North Dakota Supreme Court ruling reverses judge’s decision that overturned abortion ban

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — The North Dakota Supreme court has ruled on the state’s overturned abortion ban.

In a split decision, the court says it could not reach a majority required to deem it unconstitutional.

The decision makes abortion illegal in the state again.

The Red River Women’s Clinic, once located in North Dakota but moved to Minnesota after the ban was first put into effect. They filed a lawsuit to overturn the ban in 2022.

In 2023, North Dakota’s Republican-led Legislature revised the state’s abortion laws, approving the ban the judge later overturned in 2024.

Without the abortion ban in effect, the procedure was only available at a hospital for life- or health-preserving reasons.