Abortion remains legal in North Dakota as state Supreme Court denies state’s effort to reinstate ban

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 24, 2025

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Today, the North Dakota Supreme Court denied the State’s effort to reinstate the near-total abortion ban previously struck down in District Court. As a result, abortion remains legal in North Dakota while the State’s appeal continues.

“The ban on abortion in North Dakota created a dangerous situation for many, leaving people without the ability to make decisions about their own bodies and forcing healthcare providers into untenable situations,” said Christina Sambor, North Dakota State Director at Gender Justice. “This ruling helps restore access to reproductive healthcare, but the fight is not over. We will continue to fight to ensure that people in North Dakota can access safe and legal abortion care when they need it most.”

Abortion had been illegal in North Dakota, with limited exceptions, since the ban’s enactment in April 2023. In September 2024, a state court struck down the state’s abortion ban, ruling that it violated the state constitution. The ban currently before the Court was enacted in 2023 by the State Legislature after the North Dakota Supreme Court blocked enforcement of the State’s total abortion ban. That earlier law, triggered by the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, banned nearly all abortions in the state, even in cases of rape or incest.

“Today’s decision to keep the abortion ban blocked was the only logical outcome,” said Meetra Mehdizadeh, Senior Staff Attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights. “Across the country, people are dying without access to abortion, and still the State sought to stop pregnant North Dakotans facing dangerous situations from getting the care they need. It’s shameful. We will not stop fighting until this ban is struck down once and for all.”

The case challenging the ban was brought by the Center for Reproductive Rights, Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP, and Gender Justice, on behalf of Red River Women’s Clinic, its medical director Dr. Kathryn Eggleston, Dr. Ana Tobiasz, Dr. Erica Hofland, and Dr. Collette Lessard.