North Dakota Supreme Court Justice Jerod Tufte. (Tanner Ecker/Bismarck Tribune via the North Dakota Monitor)
(. North Dakota Monitor) – The state of North Dakota on Tuesday asked the North Dakota Supreme Court to overturn a district court’s ruling that struck down a 2023 abortion ban, arguing that the state constitution does not give women the right to seek elective abortions.
“Nothing in our history suggests our constitution has ever been understood to guarantee abortions unrelated to the mother’s life or health,” North Dakota Solicitor General Philip Axt said in oral arguments before the court.
Daniel Narum appeared on the bench in place of Justice Douglas Bahr, who recused from the case.
The ban, signed into law by then-Gov. Doug Burgum in April 2023, outlawed abortion in all cases except rape or incest in the first six weeks of pregnancy, or when the pregnancy poses a serious physical health threat. Psychological conditions did not count as serious health risks under the law.
