BISMARCK, North Dakota (LifeSiteNews) — North Dakota can once again protect its tiniest citizens from being killed through abortion, following a state supreme court ruling.
In a bit of a legal anomaly, a majority of activist justices actually did say that parts of the law were “unconstitutionally vague” and tried to strike down the protections for preborn babies. However, only three of the five justices could agree on this point, and four are needed on issues of constitutionality.
“The state constitution requires at least four of the five justices to agree for a law to be found unconstitutional, a high bar,” the Associated Press explained. “Not enough members of the court joined together to affirm the lower court ruling.”
The practical effect is that the court upheld a state law that generally prohibits the intentional killing of preborn babies in the womb. However, it includes exceptions for a medically “necessary” abortion. Women can also have their baby killed up through the first six weeks of pregnancy if the baby was conceived via rape or incest.
Direct abortion is never truly needed, however, as medical experts have affirmed. Pro-lifers also stress that all babies are deserving of protection no matter the circumstances of their conception.
Red River Women’s Clinic filed a lawsuit to stop the bill. The abortion facility stood to lose money if women could not pay it to kill their innocent baby. It claimed the state constitution provided women a “right” to have abortions for “mental health conditions.”
In September 2024, left-wing North Dakota District Judge Bruce Romanick blocked the law, keeping it unenforceable until now. The activist judge invented a “right” to abortion by reading it into the state constitution.
Romanick declared that the state’s pro-life laws “infringe on a woman’s [so-called] fundamental right to procreative autonomy, and are not narrowly tailored to promote women’s health or to protect unborn human life,” according to the supreme court’s decision. “The law as currently drafted takes away a woman’s fundamental rights to liberty and her fundamental right to pursue and obtain safety and happiness,” he alleged.
Three justices voted to overturn the law, while two supported it.
Pro-life leaders in the state welcomed the result of the ruling.
“The Attorney General’s office has the solemn responsibility of defending the laws of North Dakota, and today those laws have been upheld,” Attorney Drew Wrigley stated. He called the bill “important.”
Meanwhile, the law’s sponsor said she was “thrilled and grateful that two justices that are highly respected saw the truth of the matter.”
The judges confirmed the law “is fully constitutional for the mother and for the unborn child and thereafter for that sake,” state senator Janne Myrdal said.
The law, Senate Bill 2150, makes abortion a Class C felony carrying up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine, as LifeSiteNews previously reported.
Then-North Dakota Republican Gov. Doug Burgum signed the law in April 2023.
There are currently no abortion facilities in the state. Red River Women’s Clinic has since moved to Minnesota.
The president of a national pro-life group told LifeSiteNews the ruling is good news.
“This ruling clears the path to finally hold a dangerous, profit-driven industry accountable for its reckless disregard for patient safety,” Felipe Avila told LifeSiteNews via text message on Monday. He is the president of TeenProLifers.
“Lawmakers must continue to strengthen the social safety net by investing in pregnancy resource centers and eliminating financial barriers for adoption,” Avila said, when asked for further steps the state could take to promote a culture of life. “Our priority has always been, and will remain, supporting women and their preborn children.”
