Judge Rules North Dakota’s Ban on Abortions After 6 Weeks Unconstitutional
North Dakota’s law banning abortions after 6 weeks of pregnancy is unconstitutional, a federal judge ruled Wednesday, striking down what critics had called the nation’s most extreme limit on the procedure.
The law, which was approved last year but never took effect, made it a crime for a woman to abort a fetus with a detectable heartbeat. Offending doctors faced up to five years in prison. An exception was allowed for medical emergencies.
U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland said the law was “in direct contradiction” of the Supreme Court’s 40-year-old decision in Roe vs. Wade, which established “viability” as the critical point at which states could begin restricting abortions. North Dakota and several other states already ban abortions when a fetus is considered viable, typically at about 4 months.
“The United States Supreme Court has spoken and has unequivocally said no state may deprive a woman of the choice to terminate her pregnancy at a point prior to viability,” Hovland wrote.
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