North Dakota Supreme Court asked to keep overturned abortion ban in place during state's appeal

BISMARCK, N.D. — Attorneys for the state of North Dakota have asked the state Supreme Court to let North Dakota's overturned abortion ban remain in effect during the state's appeal of a judge's September ruling that found the law unconstitutional.

Earlier in October, state District Judge Bruce Romanick denied the state's request for a stay, saying: “The Court has found the law unconstitutional under the state constitution. It would be non-sensical for this Court to keep a law it has found to be unconstitutional in effect pending appeal.”

Last week, the state asked the Supreme Court for a stay pending appeal, saying “this case presents serious, difficult, and unresolved constitutional questions that are of profound importance to the people of this State," among other reasons, such as preserving the status quo.

North Dakota previously had one abortion clinic, but now none. The Red River Women's Clinic filed the lawsuit initially against North Dakota's previous abortion ban in 2022. The clinic moved from Fargo to neighboring Moorhead, Minnesota, soon after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade that year.

In 2023, North Dakota's Republican-controlled Legislature revised the state's abortion laws in the wake of the Dobbs ruling.

The ban, which took effect in April 2023, prohibited performance of an abortion as a felony crime. The only exceptions were to save the life of the mother or to prevent a “serious health risk” to her, or for cases of rape or incest, but only in the first six weeks.