Day after Trump-Harris debate, judge strikes down North Dakota’s ban on abortion

A North Dakota state court judge overturned the state’s ban on most abortions on Thursday, paving the way for abortion to be legal in the state for the first time in over a year.

Judge Bruce Romanick ruled that the state constitution protects a woman’s right to an abortion before the fetus is viable, siding with abortion providers who challenged the ban. The order will take effect within 14 days.

The ban, signed into law by Republican Governor Doug Burgum in April 2023, classifies performing abortions as a felony, with exceptions only to save the life of the mother or in cases where her health is at serious risk. It also allows exceptions for rape and incest victims, but only within the first six weeks of pregnancy.

In his 24-page ruling, Romanick declared that the abortion ban infringed on a woman’s fundamental right to “procreative autonomy” and was not narrowly tailored to protect women’s health or unborn life.

He concluded that the law, as written, undermines a woman’s liberty and her right to pursue safety and happiness.

Throughout his 2024 presidential campaign, Donald Trump has struggled to provide clear and consistent answers on abortion, and his first debate against Kamala Harris was no exception.

Moderators questioned him about his shifting stance on a Florida ballot measure to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.

Initially suggesting support for the measure, which would restore abortion rights in a state with a six-week ban, Trump quickly reversed course after backlash from his anti-abortion base.

He defended his position by misrepresenting the measure’s scope, claiming it allowed abortion “in the ninth month,” a gross exaggeration.

Trump’s rhetoric about late-term abortions and infanticide, which resonated with anti-abortion voters in 2016, faces new scrutiny in a post-Roe environment where most Americans support abortion rights.

In contrast, Kamala Harris delivered a compelling defense of abortion rights, addressing the severe consequences of restricting access.

She highlighted cases like that of Jaci Statton, a woman who suffered complications from a nonviable pregnancy and was forced to wait in a parking lot for care. Harris’s passionate stance resonated with many voters, emphasising that most Americans support women’s autonomy over their own bodies.

The conservative-dominated US Supreme Court’s landmark decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June 2022 ended the national right to abortion, sparking an ongoing state-by-state struggle over abortion rights.

Since the ruling, more than a dozen states have enacted near-total abortion bans. Abortion-rights advocates have responded by challenging these bans in court and pushing for abortion rights initiatives on state ballots.

In several states, including GOP strongholds like Kansas and Kentucky, voters have chosen to uphold abortion rights.

Looking ahead to the November elections, several states are expected to have ballot measures on abortion rights, including pivotal battlegrounds like Arizona and Nevada, which could influence the presidential race.

Kamala Harris has prominently featured abortion rights in her campaign, while Donald Trump, whose Supreme Court appointments contributed to the overturning of Roe, has recently sought to distance himself from the issue.

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