North Dakota Abortion Ban is Struck Down
A North Dakota judge struck down the statewide abortion ban on Sept. 9, stating that the ban was unconstitutional. Judge Bruce Romanick stated in his ruling, “The North Dakota Constitution guarantees each individual, including women, the fundamental right to make medical judgments affecting his or her bodily integrity, health, and autonomy, in consultation with a chosen health care provider free from government interference,” adding that the ban was “unconstitutionally void for vagueness.”
Romanick was asked to give a ruling by the state to dismiss a lawsuit by the Red River Women’s Clinic which used to be the only abortion clinic in North Dakota. They recently moved across the border from Fargo to Moorhead after the statewide ban took effect. The state argued that since the clinic was no longer in North Dakota, the trial would make no difference to them.
Tammi Kromenaker, the director of the Red River Women’s Clinic, said about the decision, “I feel like the court heard us when we raised our voices against a law that not only ran counter to our state constitution, but was too vague for physicians to interpret and which prevented them from providing the high quality care that our communities are entitled to,” but she also stated that the clinic has no plans to move back to North Dakota.
Drew Wrigley, the North Dakota Attorney General, stated that he will appeal this decision; “While I have appropriate regard for the State District Court, a careful reading of Judge Romanick’s decision reveals flaws in his analysis and interpretation of controlling precedent. Accordingly, the State of North Dakota will appeal this ruling because Judge Romanick’s opinion inappropriately casts aside the law crafted by the legislative branch of our government and ignores the applicable and controlling case law previously announced by the North Dakota Supreme Court.” The ruling has been extremely controversial, with some taking it as a win for women’s rights and others seeing it as a terrible decision by the judge from Bismarck.
Rep. Karla Rose Hanson, D-Fargo, praised the decision, saying, “North Dakotans deserve the freedom to make deeply personal healthcare decisions without interference from government extremists. This law was especially cruel for victims of sexual violence — providing a rape and incest exception but only within six weeks, before most women know they’re pregnant.” North Dakota Senator Janne Myrdal, R-Edinburg, was more critical towards the judge’s ruling, stating, “I think Judge Romanick, who I think is going to retire soon, is going to go into retirement having done probably one of his last cases, if not his most important case, absolutely false and wrongly.”
The trial follows the five to four vote overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, a law that established a nationwide constitutional right to abortion. The Supreme Court instead gave that decision over to the states to decide for themselves whether abortion should be legal or not. Since then, 14 states enacted an abortion ban with many others creating limits for when an abortion is allowed to take place, leaving the country heavily divided on this issue.
While abortion is now legal again in North Dakota, there are still no clinics offering the service in the state and the shelf life of the ruling remains to be seen. With a state appeal on the way, and Judge Romanick stating that he will retire soon, the future of abortion in North Dakota is a question that will remain on everyone’s minds.
Bullet point some ‘facts’ about women’s healthcare
The US has the highest maternal mortality rate of all the developed countries
93% of abortions take place in the first trimester (at or before 13 weeks)
Only two percent of women who get an abortion have complications during the process
