BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — Attorneys argued Tuesday over whether a North Dakota judge should toss a lawsuit challenging the state's abortion ban, with the state saying the plaintiffs' case rests on hypotheticals, and the plaintiffs saying key issues remain to be resolved at a scheduled trial.
State District Judge Bruce Romanick said he will rule as quickly as he can, but he also asked the plaintiffs' attorney what difference he would have at the court trial in August. The Red River Women's Clinic, which moved from Fargo to neighboring Moorhead, Minnesota, filed the lawsuit challenging the state's now-repealed trigger ban soon after the fall of Roe v. Wade in 2022.
The clinic was North Dakota's sole abortion provider. In 2023, North Dakota's Republican-controlled Legislature revised the state's abortion laws amid the lawsuit . Soon afterward, the plaintiffs filed an amended complaint , joined by doctors in obstetrics, gynecology and maternal-fetal medicine.
North Dakota outlaws abortion as a felony crime, with exceptions to prevent the mother's death or a “serious health risk” to her, and in cases of rape or incest up to six weeks of pregnancy. The plaintiffs allege the law violates the state constitution because it is unconstitutionally vague for doctors as to the exceptions, and that its health exception is too narrow. The state wants the complaint dismissed.
Special Assistant Attorney General Dan Gaustad said the plaintiffs want the law declared unconstitutional based upon.