North Dakota joins the ranks as a state that mostly bans abortion.
Bill 2150 comes just one month after a trigger ban in the state was blocked because North Dakota’s Supreme Court said it infringed upon rights that are protected by the state constitution, per The New York Times.
On Monday, Republican Gov. Doug Burgum signed the new bill into law. It bans all abortions except in the cases of rape or incest, but only during the first six weeks of pregnancy, reported the Times.
Additionally, the bill will also make the act of performing abortions a felony unless it’s a medical emergency and the life or health of the mother is at serious risk, reported Reuters. Burgum said this movement “reaffirms North Dakota as a pro-life state” and also “clarifies and refines” the previous state-blocked ban.
“North Dakota has been pro-life before statehood, and before Roe,” said the bill’s sponsor, Republican Sen. Janne Myrdal, per The New York Times. “I’m passionate about protecting women, but also their unborn children — that goes hand in hand.”
But those in opposition of the bill view it as less of a protection and say it is more of a restriction on women’s rights.
Democratic Rep. Liz Conmy voted in opposition to the bill, saying that while she believes the state’s Legislature is “overwhelmingly pro-pregnancy,” she thinks “women in the state would like to make their own decisions,” per The Associated Press.
The new ban is seen by some as simply a way to “repackage the trigger ban” that was already blocked a month ago, per the Times.
“North Dakota lawmakers are attempting to bypass the state Constitution and court system with this total ban,” said Elisabeth Smith, director of state policy and advocacy at the Center for Reproductive Rights, per the Times. “They made the exceptions a little bit less narrow but essentially tried to repackage the trigger ban.”
Smith is part of the organization that brought a lawsuit against the previous attempt at banning abortion on behalf of the Red River clinic, which was the state’s only abortion clinic until it recently moved across the state’s border into Minnesota, per AP. Clinic personnel are fighting against the previous attempt to ban abortion in the state and disagree with the new bill.