A North Dakota state judge has overturned the state’s ban on abortion, ruling that the state constitution guarantees a fundamental right to access abortion before fetal viability. The decision, issued Thursday by District Judge Bruce Romanick, also found the ban to be too vague and in violation of the state constitution.
The ruling means that abortion would be legal in North Dakota, though the state currently lacks any operational abortion clinics. The Red River Women’s Clinic, previously the state’s sole provider, relocated to Moorehead, Minnesota, in 2022 following the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. The clinic’s director, Tammi Kromenaker, expressed cautious optimism, stating, “This decision gives us hope,” although she indicated there are no plans to reopen a clinic in North Dakota.
Judge Romanick’s ruling was made in response to a 2022 lawsuit filed by the Red River clinic challenging the state’s abortion ban. The state had sought to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that a trial would be inconsequential. The judge had previously canceled a scheduled trial in August.
In his 24-page ruling, Judge Romanick referenced the North Dakota Constitution’s guarantees of “inalienable rights,” including “life and liberty.” He stated, “The abortion statutes at issue in this case infringe on a woman’s fundamental right to procreative autonomy and are not narrowly tailored to promote women’s health or protect unborn human life.” He criticized the law for removing a woman’s liberty and right to safety and happiness.
Meetra Mehdizadeh, a staff attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights, welcomed the ruling but cautioned that opening new clinics could take years. She noted, “The destructive impacts of abortion bans are felt long after they are struck down.”
Judge Romanick acknowledged that past North Dakota court decisions had relied on federal precedents which were upended by the Supreme Court’s 2022 abortion decision. He stated that his ruling represents his “best effort” to apply the law while protecting residents’ fundamental rights.
The judge’s order echoes a 2019 Kansas Supreme Court decision which also declared access to abortion a fundamental right under state constitutional provisions. Kansas voters affirmed this position in an August 2022 referendum.
Romanick also criticized the state’s revised abortion laws, which allow abortions only in cases of rape or incest within the first six weeks of pregnancy and in specific medical emergencies thereafter. He found the law’s exceptions too narrow and criticized its lack of clarity, which he argued could lead to undue prosecution of doctors.
In his ruling, Judge Romanick reflected on historical perspectives, stating that while the state’s founders likely did not view abortion access as a constitutional right in 1889, societal changes should lead to more equitable treatment. “There was a time when we got it wrong and when women did not have a voice,” he wrote. “This does not need to continue for all time.”
The state’s Republican-controlled government, including Governor Doug Burgum and Attorney General Drew Wrigley, has yet to respond officially, but an appeal is anticipated.
