North Dakota’s near-total abortion ban is now in effect after the state Supreme Court failed to reach a majority to uphold a lower court ruling that blocked the law last year.
The ban, passed after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, prohibits most abortions in the state and includes limited exceptions. A district court had blocked the law, allowing abortions to continue while the case progressed.
The state appealed, and the Supreme Court reviewed the lower court’s injunction. Because the justices did not reach the majority needed to strike down the ban, the lower court ruling is no longer in effect, restoring the ban as the controlling law.
The law allows exceptions in specific circumstances, including risks to the pregnant person’s life or certain medical emergencies. Questions remain about how these exceptions apply in practice.
Since the federal protection for abortion ended, North Dakota has enacted some of the strictest abortion laws in the country. Clinics in the state had already reduced services or referred patients to other states.
