North Dakota supreme court considers challenge to anti-abortion law
Source: Associated Press
North Dakota supreme court considers challenge to anti-abortion law
State attorneys argue that law banning abortion drugs does not violate state constitution and that sole active clinic must comply
Associated Press in Bismarck
theguardian.com, Wednesday 11 December 2013 16.07 EST
North Dakota's supreme court heard arguments Wednesday on whether the state's sole abortion clinic can use drugs to terminate pregnancies, the first challenge before the state's highest court to a recent raft of abortion restrictions considered the most restrictive in the nation.
The state's attorney general's office, which defends state laws against court challenges, wants the North Dakota supreme court to reverse a district judge's July ruling that found a 2011 law aimed at limiting abortion drugs violates the state constitution. The East Central district judge, Wickham Corwin, called the law "simply wrongheaded" following a three-day trial in April. He'd previously granted an injunction preventing it from taking effect.
Besides the 2011 law, four other abortion restriction measures passed the Republican-controlled legislature this year and were signed into law by GOP Governor Jack Dalrymple. All are meant to challenge the boundaries of the US supreme court's 1973 Roe v Wade ruling, which legalized abortion.
Assistant attorney general Douglas Bahr told justices during the hour-long hearing that the North Dakota constitution doesn't guarantee women the right to have an abortion. But an attorney representing the Red River Women's Clinic told justices that the state supreme court always has recognized that the state constitution affords at least the same protections as the US constitution.
Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/11/north-dakota-supreme-court-abortion-drug-law