{"schema":"abhortion.org/legislation.full/v1","id":"legality-us-nd","type":"legislation","level":"state","jurisdiction":"North Dakota","as_of_date":"2026-07-12","research_completed_date":"2026-07-12","headline":"Total ban, exceptions for life/health and rape/incest ≤6 weeks","summary":"North Dakota prohibits abortion at all stages, with exceptions for death or serious health risk and for rape/incest through six weeks, enforced since November 21, 2025.","machine_readable_summary":{"legal_classification":"total_ban","gestational_limit_weeks":0,"limit_measured_from":"fertilization","abortion_currently_available":"no","ban_or_limit_enjoined":false,"mother_expressly_exempt":true,"mother_prosecutable_in_practice":false,"self_managed_abortion_criminalized":false,"abortion_charged_as_homicide":false,"fetal_homicide_law":true,"fetal_wrongful_death_action":true,"personhood_language_in_law":true,"personhood_contradiction":true,"medication_abortion_distinct_status":false,"mailing_pills_banned":"unclear","method_bans":[],"telehealth_prescribing_allowed":false,"physician_only_law":true,"provider_max_penalty":"Class C felony, up to 5 years imprisonment and $10,000 fine","helpers_criminally_exposed":"unclear","travel_assistance_criminalized":false,"civil_bounty_law":false,"shield_state":false,"waiting_period_hours":24,"state_scripted_counseling":true,"ultrasound_required":"mandatory_offered","in_person_visits_required":1,"parental_involvement":"consent_both_parents","judicial_bypass_available":true,"spousal_consent_or_notice_on_books":true,"medicaid_coverage":"hyde_only","private_insurance_restricted":true,"state_funding_posture":"defunds_providers","rape_incest_exception":true,"exceptions_present":["life","physical_health","rape","incest","ectopic_miscarriage_carveout"],"major_pending_change":false},"links":{"html":"https://www.abhortion.org/legislation/nd.html","markdown":"https://www.abhortion.org/legislation/nd.md","summary_json":"https://www.abhortion.org/legislation/nd.json","full_json":"https://www.abhortion.org/legislation/nd-full.json","verbose_json":"https://www.abhortion.org/legislation/nd-verbose.json"},"overview":{"title":"Total ban, exceptions for life/health and rape/incest ≤6 weeks","summary":"North Dakota prohibits abortion at all stages, with exceptions for death or serious health risk and for rape/incest through six weeks, enforced since November 21, 2025.","description":"North Dakota has a near-total abortion ban. A physician cannot legally perform an abortion in the state unless it is needed to prevent the pregnant woman's death or a serious health risk to her, or unless the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest and is at six weeks' gestation or less. The pregnant woman herself cannot be prosecuted. The ban was struck down by a lower court in 2024 but reinstated by the North Dakota Supreme Court on November 21, 2025, after a split decision in which three justices found the law unconstitutional but a supermajority of four was required to invalidate it. The state's only abortion clinic moved from Fargo to Moorhead, Minnesota, in 2022; no clinics currently operate in North Dakota.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t12-1c19-1.pdf"},{"name":"Justia","href":"https://law.justia.com/cases/north-dakota/supreme-court/2025/20240291.html"},{"name":"Justia","href":"https://law.justia.com/constitution/north-dakota/article-vi/section-4"}]},"sections":{"definitions":{"title":"Abortion defined; ectopic/molar/spontaneous excluded","summary":"The statute defines abortion to exclude removal of a dead fetus from spontaneous abortion, treatment of ectopic pregnancy, and treatment of molar pregnancy.","description":"Under North Dakota law, 'abortion' means using any instrument, medicine, drug, or other means with the intent to end a clinically diagnosable pregnancy, knowing that it will likely cause the death of the unborn child. The law does not treat as abortion the removal of a dead fetus after miscarriage, treatment of an ectopic pregnancy, or treatment of a molar pregnancy. IVF and embryos outside the womb are not addressed in the definition and fall outside this provision's reach.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t12-1c19-1.pdf"}]},"current_status":{"title":"Total ban; life/health and rape/incest exceptions","summary":"Abortion is a felony at all gestational ages, with exceptions to prevent death or serious health risk and for rape or incest at six weeks or less, enforced since November 21, 2025.","description":"Since November 21, 2025, abortion has been illegal in North Dakota at all stages of pregnancy. A doctor may perform an abortion only if, in their reasonable medical judgment, it is needed to prevent the pregnant woman's death or a 'serious health risk' — meaning a condition that would cause substantial physical impairment of a major bodily function, not including psychological or emotional conditions. There is also a narrow exception when the pregnancy results from rape or incest, but only if the probable gestational age is six weeks or less. There are no abortion clinics operating in North Dakota; the state's only clinic moved to Moorhead, Minnesota, in 2022.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t12-1c19-1.pdf"},{"name":"State Court Report / Brennan Center","href":"https://statecourtreport.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/how-originalism-revived-abortion-ban-majority-north-dakota-supreme-court"}]},"enforcement_status":{"title":"In full effect; all injunctions dissolved","summary":"The abortion ban is in full effect as of November 21, 2025, after the North Dakota Supreme Court reversed the district court's injunction in a supermajority-governed split decision.","description":"The North Dakota abortion ban is currently enforceable. The district court had struck it down in September 2024, but the North Dakota Supreme Court reversed that decision on November 21, 2025. Even though three of the five justices agreed the law was unconstitutionally vague, the state constitution requires at least four justices to strike down a law, so the ban stands. State's attorneys had agreed not to enforce the ban while the appeal was pending, but that agreement lapsed when the Supreme Court issued its final ruling.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Justia","href":"https://law.justia.com/constitution/north-dakota/article-vi/section-4"},{"name":"UCLA Law Center on Reproductive Health, Law, and Policy","href":"https://law.ucla.edu/academics/centers/center-reproductive-health-law-and-policy/history-reproductive-rights-cases/cases/wrigley-v-romanick"},{"name":"Justia","href":"https://law.justia.com/cases/north-dakota/supreme-court/2025/20240291.html"}]},"exceptions":{"life":{"title":"Life exception: reasonable medical judgment standard","type":"life","summary":"Abortion permitted when necessary, based on reasonable medical judgment, to prevent the death of the pregnant woman.","description":"A physician may perform an abortion if, in their reasonable medical judgment, the procedure is necessary to prevent the pregnant woman's death. The law uses an objective standard: what a reasonably prudent physician would decide given the circumstances. There is no requirement to wait until death is imminent.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t12-1c19-1.pdf"}]},"physical_health":{"title":"Physical health: serious health risk exception","type":"physical_health","summary":"Abortion permitted for a serious health risk — a condition necessitating abortion to prevent substantial physical impairment of a major bodily function, excluding psychological or emotional conditions.","description":"Beyond saving the woman's life, the law also allows abortion to prevent a 'serious health risk.' This means a physical condition that would cause substantial physical impairment of a major bodily function — for example, kidney failure, stroke risk, or loss of a major bodily function. Mental health conditions are specifically excluded and cannot justify an abortion. The physician must use their reasonable medical judgment, but the law applies an objective test — what a reasonably prudent physician would do, not just what the treating physician honestly believes.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t12-1c19-1.pdf"}]},"mental_health":{"title":"Mental health: expressly excluded","type":"mental_health","summary":"Mental health conditions are specifically excluded from the serious health risk exception by statutory definition.","description":"The law specifically states that psychological and emotional conditions do not count as a 'serious health risk.' Even a severe mental health crisis triggered or worsened by pregnancy cannot justify a legal abortion in North Dakota under this exception.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t12-1c19-1.pdf"}]},"rape":{"title":"Rape: up to 6 weeks gestational age","type":"rape","summary":"Abortion permitted for pregnancy resulting from rape (including gross sexual imposition) if probable gestational age is six weeks or less.","description":"If the pregnancy resulted from rape, sexual imposition, or sexual abuse of a ward, an abortion is allowed up to six weeks of pregnancy. The physician must make this determination based on 'reasonable medical judgment.' The law does not require the victim to report the rape to law enforcement before obtaining the abortion. However, the six-week window is extremely narrow — many people do not know they are pregnant by six weeks, making this exception difficult to use in practice.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t12-1c19-1.pdf"}]},"incest":{"title":"Incest: same 6-week limit as rape exception","type":"incest","summary":"Same six-week gestational limit for pregnancies resulting from incest, with no reporting requirement embedded in the exception.","description":"The same six-week window that applies to rape also applies to incest. The physician must have a basis in reasonable medical judgment to conclude the pregnancy resulted from incest. No formal law enforcement report is required by the text of the exception, though documentation requirements for the procedure remain.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t12-1c19-1.pdf"}]},"fatal_fetal_anomaly":{"title":"No fetal anomaly exception","type":"fatal_fetal_anomaly","summary":"North Dakota's ban provides no exception for fatal fetal anomalies, including conditions incompatible with life.","description":"There is no exception in North Dakota law for pregnancies involving severe or fatal fetal anomalies. A physician cannot legally terminate a pregnancy even if the fetus has been diagnosed with a condition that is incompatible with life, unless the pregnancy also independently meets the life or serious-health-risk exception for the pregnant woman.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t12-1c19-1.pdf"}]},"ectopic_miscarriage_carveout":{"title":"Ectopic, molar, and miscarriage excluded from abortion","type":"ectopic_miscarriage_carveout","summary":"Treatment for ectopic pregnancy, molar pregnancy, and removal of a dead fetus from spontaneous abortion are expressly carved out of the statutory definition of abortion.","description":"The ban does not apply to treatment for ectopic pregnancy, molar pregnancy, or removal of a deceased fetus following miscarriage. These are excluded from the definition of 'abortion' itself, so physicians may provide this care without needing to invoke an exception. However, there are no abortion clinics in North Dakota, and some hospitals may hesitate to treat pregnancy complications given the criminal penalties for violations, creating uncertainty in emergency settings.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t12-1c19-1.pdf"}]}},"methods":{"procedural_surgical":{"title":"Procedural abortion: banned with exceptions","summary":"All procedural (surgical) abortion is banned as a class C felony, with the same life, health, and rape/incest exceptions that govern the ban generally.","description":"Surgical abortion is illegal in North Dakota except when needed to save the woman's life or prevent serious health risk, or within the first six weeks for rape or incest. There are no method-specific bans (such as D&E or D&X bans) currently in force because SB 2150 repealed the prior statutes that separately banned dismemberment abortions, sex-selective abortions, genetic-abnormality abortions, and abortions after a detectable heartbeat. The general ban covers all procedural methods equally.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t12-1c19-1.pdf"},{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/68-2023/regular/documents/23-0137-08000.pdf"}]},"medication":{"title":"Medication abortion: banned; same as procedural","summary":"Medication abortion (mifepristone/misoprostol) is treated identically to procedural abortion under the ban — prescribing or dispensing abortion-inducing drugs is within the felony prohibition.","description":"Medication abortion is illegal in North Dakota under the same terms as surgical abortion. The definition of 'abortion' in the criminal ban includes using, selling, or prescribing any medicine or drug with the intent to terminate a pregnancy. The Abortion Control Act separately regulates 'abortion-inducing drugs' and requires compliance with FDA labeling, but the criminal ban overrides any residual regulatory framework for legal use. There is no legal way to obtain abortion medication from a provider in North Dakota.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t12-1c19-1.pdf"},{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t14c02-1.pdf"}]},"self_managed":{"title":"Mother exempt; self-managed not separately criminalized","summary":"The pregnant woman is expressly exempt from criminal liability for performing an abortion on herself, and no separate statute targets self-managed abortion.","description":"The North Dakota abortion ban says that the crime of performing an abortion applies to 'a person, other than the pregnant female upon whom the abortion was performed.' This means the pregnant woman cannot be prosecuted under the abortion ban for ending her own pregnancy, including by taking abortion pills she obtained on her own. No other North Dakota statute specifically criminalizes self-managed abortion. However, the state attorney general has pursued organizations that help people obtain pills, and the fetal homicide statute includes certain abortion-related exceptions but is not written to reach self-managed conduct.","verification":"verified","confidence":"medium","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t12-1c19-1.pdf"},{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t12-1c17-1.pdf"}]}},"actors":{"who_may_perform":{"title":"Physician-only; admitting privileges required","summary":"Only licensed physicians may perform abortions; non-physicians face a class B felony; admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles are required.","description":"Only a licensed physician may perform an abortion in North Dakota. Anyone else who performs one faces a class B felony. The physician must also have hospital admitting privileges within 30 miles of the abortion facility, and the facility must have staff trained in CPR present. After 12 weeks of pregnancy, the procedure must be performed in a licensed hospital. Advanced practice clinicians such as nurse practitioners or physician assistants are not authorized to perform or prescribe abortions.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"FindLaw","href":"https://codes.findlaw.com/nd/title-14-domestic-relations-and-persons/nd-cent-code-sect-14-02-1-04.html"}]},"criminal_civil_exposure":{"pregnant_woman":{"title":"Pregnant woman: expressly exempt from abortion crime","summary":"The ban applies only to a person, other than the pregnant female upon whom the abortion was performed, and fetal homicide law also excludes the pregnant woman from the definition of person.","description":"A pregnant woman cannot be charged under North Dakota's abortion ban for having an abortion. The law explicitly excludes 'the pregnant female upon whom the abortion was performed.' This means she cannot be prosecuted as the principal offender or as an accomplice to her own abortion. The fetal homicide statute similarly excludes the pregnant woman from its definition of 'person.' Civilly, the informed-consent statute creates a cause of action allowing a woman to sue a physician who performed an abortion without proper informed consent — but this is a right she holds, not liability she faces.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t12-1c19-1.pdf"},{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t12-1c17-1.pdf"}]},"physician":{"title":"Physician: class C felony, 5 years, $10,000 fine","summary":"A physician who performs a prohibited abortion faces a class C felony — up to 5 years imprisonment, a $10,000 fine, or both — plus license discipline.","description":"A physician who performs an illegal abortion faces up to five years in prison and a fine up to $10,000. Their medical license is also at risk: the state medical board can take disciplinary action against a physician who performs an abortion in violation of the law.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t12-1c19-1.pdf"},{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t12-1c32.pdf"}]},"prescriber_pharmacist":{"title":"Non-physician prescriber: class B felony","summary":"Prescribing or performing an abortion by a non-physician is a class B felony — up to 10 years imprisonment, a $20,000 fine, or both.","description":"Only physicians may prescribe or perform abortions. Any other licensed professional — such as a nurse practitioner, physician assistant, or pharmacist — who prescribes or dispenses abortion medication for the purpose of ending a pregnancy faces a class B felony, which carries up to 10 years in prison and a $20,000 fine. Pharmacists filling out-of-state prescriptions for abortion medication to patients in North Dakota would also risk criminal liability.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"FindLaw","href":"https://codes.findlaw.com/nd/title-14-domestic-relations-and-persons/nd-cent-code-sect-14-02-1-04.html"}]},"nurses_and_staff":{"title":"Staff: protected if acting under physician direction without knowledge","summary":"Staff who assist under physician direction within their regulated profession and without knowledge the physician is violating the law are exempt from the ban.","description":"Nurses, medical assistants, and other clinical staff who help with an abortion are not criminally liable if they were acting within their professional scope, under a physician's direction, and did not know the physician was breaking the law. However, if a staff member knows the abortion is illegal — for example, if they are aware the exceptions do not apply — they could face accomplice liability.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t12-1c19-1.pdf"}]},"other_helpers":{"title":"Helpers: risk under general accomplice, consumer fraud, and aiding statutes","summary":"Non-clinical helpers — friends, family, abortion funds — face potential liability under general criminal accomplice and consumer fraud statutes; the attorney general's office has actively pursued at least one abortion fund.","description":"A friend who drives someone to an illegal abortion, a parent who pays for it, or an employer who reimburses travel could potentially face criminal charges as an accomplice, depending on how prosecutors interpret the law. The North Dakota Attorney General issued a cease-and-desist order to the Prairie Abortion Fund in January 2026 under the state consumer fraud law for linking to websites selling abortion pills. This signals that the state is willing to use non-abortion statutes to target those who help people obtain abortions, even if the abortion itself occurs out of state.","verification":"verified","confidence":"medium","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t12-1c03.pdf"},{"name":"North Dakota Attorney General","href":"https://attorneygeneral.nd.gov/attorney-general-wrigley-issues-cease-desist-order-against-prairie-abortion-fund"}]}}},"aiding_and_assisting":{"travel_assistance":{"title":"No travel ban; travel assistance not criminalized","summary":"North Dakota has no statute criminalizing travel out of state for abortion or assisting someone with such travel; efforts to enact abortion trafficking laws have not succeeded.","description":"There is no North Dakota law that makes it a crime to help someone travel out of state for an abortion, and no 'abortion trafficking' statute. A person may lawfully travel from North Dakota to Minnesota or elsewhere for an abortion, and others may assist with transportation, lodging, or funds for that travel without facing prosecution under a travel-specific statute. General accomplice liability to an in-state offense would not logically attach to lawful out-of-state conduct.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t12-1c19-1.pdf"}]},"funding":{"title":"Funding assistance: consumer fraud enforcement against abortion fund","summary":"No direct abortion-funding crime, but the AG has used consumer fraud law against Prairie Abortion Fund for facilitating pill access; direct financial assistance for out-of-state travel has not been targeted in the same manner.","description":"There is no North Dakota law that directly criminalizes paying for someone's abortion or abortion-related travel. However, the Attorney General issued a cease-and-desist order against Prairie Abortion Fund in January 2026 under the consumer fraud law for facilitating the sale of abortion pills, which signals potential legal risk for organizations that help fund or facilitate abortion access.","verification":"verified","confidence":"medium","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Attorney General","href":"https://attorneygeneral.nd.gov/attorney-general-wrigley-issues-cease-desist-order-against-prairie-abortion-fund"}]},"mailing_pills":{"title":"Mailing pills: targeted via consumer fraud; no specific mailing ban","summary":"North Dakota has no standalone mail-ban statute, but the AG has used consumer fraud law against entities facilitating mail-order abortion pills, and the criminal ban covers selling or prescribing abortion-inducing drugs.","description":"There is no specific North Dakota law that says it is illegal to mail abortion pills. But the Attorney General has argued that facilitating mail-order abortion pills is illegal under the state's consumer fraud law. Because the abortion ban criminalizes selling or prescribing abortion-inducing drugs, shipping pills into North Dakota could be prosecuted under the ban, and anyone who helps make that happen could face accomplice liability or consumer fraud claims.","verification":"verify_before_publication","confidence":"medium","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Attorney General","href":"https://attorneygeneral.nd.gov/attorney-general-wrigley-issues-cease-desist-order-against-prairie-abortion-fund"}]},"providing_information":{"title":"Information provision: First Amendment limits; AG enforcement against referrals","summary":"No statute directly criminalizes providing information about abortion, but the AG's consumer fraud action against Prairie Abortion Fund for linking to pill websites suggests the state views referrals as within its enforcement reach.","description":"Giving someone information about how to get an abortion — including website addresses or clinic referrals — is not directly criminalized by any North Dakota statute. However, the Attorney General's cease-and-desist order against Prairie Abortion Fund was based partly on the fund's website linking to pill sellers, suggesting the state considers such referrals as facilitating illegal activity. First Amendment protections likely limit the state's ability to criminalize pure information sharing, but the line between protected speech and illegal facilitation remains untested in North Dakota courts.","verification":"not_applicable","confidence":"medium"},"civil_bounty":{"title":"No SB8-style civil bounty law","summary":"North Dakota has not enacted a private civil enforcement mechanism of the Texas SB8 type; no statute authorizes private individuals to sue abortion providers or helpers for damages.","description":"North Dakota does not have a law like Texas's SB8 that lets private citizens sue anyone who performs an abortion or helps someone get one. There is no civil bounty mechanism on the books.","verification":"not_applicable","confidence":"high"}},"procedural_requirements":{"waiting_period":{"title":"24-hour waiting period, in-person counseling","summary":"A woman must receive mandatory information from the physician or the physician's agent at least 24 hours before an abortion, and the informed consent certification must be in writing.","description":"Under the Abortion Control Act, a woman must receive state-mandated information at least 24 hours before the abortion procedure. The physician or the physician's agent must inform her of the procedure's risks, the gestational age of the fetus, alternatives to abortion, and the father's support obligations. She must certify in writing that she received this information. The physician cannot receive payment before the 24-hour period expires. In practice, this requirement is moot because abortion is banned except for the narrow exceptions, where the medical emergency provision may bypass some of these requirements.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t14c02-1.pdf"}]},"mandatory_counseling":{"title":"State-scripted counseling; medically contested statements","summary":"The state requires specific scripted oral and printed disclosures, including that the abortion terminates a unique living human being, that abortion reversal may be possible, and that abortion is linked to increased breast cancer risk.","description":"North Dakota requires doctors to give patients a specific set of statements before an abortion. The doctor must say that the abortion will terminate the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being. Printed materials from the health department must describe fetal development with color photographs, include the medically disputed claim that abortion may increase breast cancer risk, and state that it may be possible to reverse a medication abortion — a claim not supported by major medical organizations. The materials must also state that the state of North Dakota strongly urges you to contact alternatives-to-abortion agencies.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t14c02-1.pdf"}]},"ultrasound_requirement":{"title":"Ultrasound offered and opportunity to view required","summary":"The abortion facility must offer the woman the opportunity to receive and view an active ultrasound at least 24 hours before the abortion; she must sign documenting her decision.","description":"Before an abortion, the facility must offer the woman a chance to see and receive an active ultrasound of the fetus at least 24 hours in advance. The ultrasound must show dimensions, external features, internal organs, and the heartbeat if visible. She must sign a form documenting whether she accepted or declined the offer. She is not required to look at the image, but the offer must be made and documented.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"FindLaw","href":"https://codes.findlaw.com/nd/title-14-domestic-relations-and-persons/nd-cent-code-sect-14-02-1-04.html"}]},"in_person_visits":{"title":"At least one in-person visit required","summary":"The mandatory 24-hour waiting period, informed consent, and ultrasound offer collectively require at least one in-person visit before the procedure.","description":"The combined effect of the 24-hour waiting period, mandatory in-person informed consent (including ultrasound offer), and written certification requirements means that a woman must make at least one in-person visit to the abortion facility at least 24 hours before the procedure. The physician must receive the written consent certification before performing the abortion. Because no clinics operate in North Dakota, this requirement is moot for most patients, who must travel out of state.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t14c02-1.pdf"}]}},"minors":{"parental_involvement":{"title":"Parental consent: both parents required","summary":"An unemancipated minor under 18 must obtain written consent from both parents (or the surviving/custodial parent or guardian) before an abortion, with a judicial bypass available.","description":"In North Dakota, a person under 18 who is not married must get written consent from both parents — or the surviving parent, custodial parent, or legal guardian — before having an abortion. If the minor cannot or will not involve their parents, they can ask a juvenile court judge for permission instead (judicial bypass). There is an exception for medical emergencies.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t14c02-1.pdf"}]},"judicial_bypass":{"title":"Judicial bypass: maturity and best interests standard","summary":"A minor may petition the juvenile court for authorization without parental consent; the court must hear the case within 48 hours and rule on maturity and best interests, with expedited Supreme Court appeal available.","description":"A minor who does not want to involve her parents can go to juvenile court and ask a judge for permission instead. The court must hear her case within 48 hours (excluding weekends). The judge decides if she is mature and well-informed enough to make the decision on her own. If she is not, the judge decides if notifying parents is in her best interests. If it would not be, the judge can authorize the abortion. The minor can appeal to the North Dakota Supreme Court, which must hear the case within four days and decide within 24 hours. The proceedings are confidential.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t14c02-1.pdf"}]}},"paternal_spousal_rights":{"consent_or_notice_laws":{"title":"Spousal consent on the books for post-viability abortions","summary":"A provision requiring written spousal consent for post-viability abortions remains in the Abortion Control Act, though likely unenforceable under federal precedent.","description":"The North Dakota Abortion Control Act contains a provision stating that after viability, an abortion may not be performed without the written consent of the woman's husband, unless they are voluntarily separated. This provision is almost certainly unconstitutional under longstanding U.S. Supreme Court precedent, but it has not been formally repealed.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t14c02-1.pdf"}]},"enforceability":{"title":"Spousal consent unenforceable under Danforth and Casey","summary":"The spousal consent provision is almost certainly unconstitutional under Planned Parenthood v. Danforth (1976) and Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992), and its continued presence in the code is likely a legislative oversight.","description":"The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled twice that requiring a husband's consent for an abortion is unconstitutional: in Planned Parenthood v. Danforth in 1976 and again in Planned Parenthood v. Casey in 1992. Because these rulings have not been overturned — even by Dobbs, which addressed the viability framework but not the spousal-consent rule specifically — the North Dakota spousal consent provision is almost certainly unenforceable. However, the statute has not been formally repealed, and no North Dakota court has addressed it since Dobbs.","verification":"semi_verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Justia / U.S. Supreme Court","href":"https://supreme.justia.com/cases/federal/us/428/52/"}]},"other_paternal_rights":{"title":"Father's support obligation disclosed; no abortion veto","summary":"The informed-consent statute requires telling the woman that the father is liable for child support; the father has no right to veto an abortion.","description":"North Dakota law requires that a woman be told before an abortion that the father is legally responsible for child support if she carries the pregnancy to term. The father has no legal right to prevent an abortion or to be notified before one occurs. The state's wrongful-death statute has been interpreted to allow a claim for a viable fetus, which could include a father as a potential plaintiff, but this has not been applied in the abortion context.","verification":"verified","confidence":"medium","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t14c02-1.pdf"}]}},"fetal_personhood":{"fetal_homicide_law":{"title":"Fetal homicide from conception; abortion exception","summary":"North Dakota criminalizes homicide of an unborn child at any stage of development, but the statute defines person to exclude the pregnant woman and contains an explicit exception for consented-to physician-performed abortion.","description":"North Dakota has a fetal homicide law that makes it a crime to kill an unborn child — from the moment of conception — in circumstances that would be murder, manslaughter, or negligent homicide if the victim were born. However, the law explicitly excludes the pregnant woman from the definition of person and contains a specific exception for abortion performed by or under the supervision of a licensed physician with the woman's consent. So a third party who kills a fetus (for example, by assaulting a pregnant woman) can be charged, but the law does not reach the pregnant woman or a physician performing a legal abortion.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t12-1c17-1.pdf"}]},"wrongful_death":{"title":"Wrongful death for viable unborn child","summary":"The North Dakota Supreme Court has held that a wrongful-death action may be brought for a viable unborn child under N.D.C.C. § 32-21-01.","description":"If a viable fetus dies because of someone else's negligence or wrongful act, the parents can bring a wrongful-death lawsuit. The North Dakota Supreme Court decided this in 1984 in the case of Hopkins v. McBane, holding that a viable unborn child qualifies as a person for purposes of the state's wrongful-death statute. The ruling applies from viability, not conception.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Justia","href":"https://law.justia.com/cases/north-dakota/supreme-court/1984/10697-2.html"}]},"personhood_definition":{"title":"Human being includes unborn from fertilization","summary":"The Abortion Control Act defines human being to include the unborn human being during the entire embryonic and fetal ages from fertilization to full gestation.","description":"North Dakota law contains a statutory definition that says a human being includes an unborn child from the moment of fertilization through the entire pregnancy. This definition is in the Abortion Control Act, the portion of the code that regulates how abortions may be performed when they are not otherwise prohibited. It does not, by its own terms, apply to the state's homicide statutes, though a 2025 bill that would have extended it to homicide and assault laws was defeated.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t14c02-1.pdf"}]},"contradictions_analysis":"North Dakota's law contains significant internal contradictions regarding fetal personhood. The Abortion Control Act defines human being to include the unborn from fertilization to full gestation (N.D.C.C. § 14-02.1-02(7)), and its stated purpose is to protect every human life whether unborn or aged, healthy or sick (§ 14-02.1-01). Yet the criminal abortion ban itself (ch. 12.1-19.1), enacted by the same legislature, expressly exempts the pregnant woman from criminal liability and permits abortion — the deliberate termination of that same human being — to prevent death or serious health risk, and for rape or incest before six weeks. The fetal homicide chapter (ch. 12.1-17.1) treats the killing of an unborn child as potentially murder in the first degree (class AA felony), but simultaneously excludes the pregnant woman from the definition of person and exempts physician-performed abortion with consent. The wrongful-death statute has been interpreted to permit a civil action for a viable fetus, yet the same legal system prohibits abortion except in narrow circumstances — creating a paradox in which the fetus is a person for some purposes but not for the purpose of the abortion ban's exceptions. The 2025 legislature considered and rejected HB 1373, which would have resolved some of these contradictions by making the woman chargeable with murder — the bill's defeat preserves the existing tension between personhood rhetoric and the mother-exemption reality."},"telehealth_and_interstate":{"telehealth_prescribing":{"title":"Telehealth prescribing effectively barred","summary":"Abortion medication cannot be prescribed via telehealth to a patient in North Dakota because the underlying act of prescribing with intent to terminate a pregnancy is a felony.","description":"Because prescribing abortion medication to end a pregnancy is itself a felony in North Dakota, telehealth prescribing is effectively prohibited. Even a physician licensed in North Dakota cannot prescribe mifepristone or misoprostol via a video or phone visit to a patient in the state unless one of the narrow exceptions applies. Out-of-state physicians who prescribe abortion medication via telehealth to a North Dakota resident face potential criminal exposure under North Dakota's criminal statutes, though enforcement across state lines is practically complex.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t12-1c19-1.pdf"}]},"out_of_state_travel":{"title":"Out-of-state travel: lawful; no extraterritorial statute","summary":"North Dakota residents may lawfully travel out of state for abortion care; no statute attempts to reach conduct occurring wholly outside North Dakota.","description":"It is legal to travel from North Dakota to another state — most commonly Minnesota — to obtain an abortion. North Dakota has no law that tries to punish its residents for getting an abortion in another state where it is legal. The state's only abortion clinic, Red River Women's Clinic, moved from Fargo to Moorhead, Minnesota, in 2022, and continues to serve North Dakota residents there.","verification":"semi_verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Red River Women's Clinic","href":"https://www.redriverwomensclinic.com"}]},"shield_or_hostile_laws":{"title":"No shield law; hostile enforcement posture","summary":"North Dakota has no shield law protecting abortion providers or patients from other states' investigations; the AG has taken an active enforcement posture against in-state entities facilitating abortion access.","description":"North Dakota is not a shield state — it has no law protecting its providers, residents, or visitors from other states' abortion-related investigations, subpoenas, or extradition requests. Instead, the state has taken a hostile posture: the Attorney General has used consumer fraud law against an in-state abortion fund for facilitating pill access. Out-of-state shield laws (in states like Minnesota) may protect providers there who serve North Dakota residents, but North Dakota itself offers no such protections.","verification":"not_applicable","confidence":"high"}},"funding_and_insurance":{"medicaid":{"title":"Medicaid: Hyde Amendment only (life, rape, incest)","summary":"North Dakota Medicaid covers abortion only when necessary to save the woman's life or when the pregnancy results from rape or incest, consistent with the federal Hyde Amendment.","description":"North Dakota's Medicaid program covers abortion only in three situations: when the woman's life is endangered by carrying the pregnancy to term, when the pregnancy is the result of rape, or when it is the result of incest. It does not cover abortion for any other reason, even when the woman's health is at serious risk.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Justia","href":"https://law.justia.com/codes/north-dakota/title-14/chapter-14-02-3"},{"name":"North Dakota Health and Human Services","href":"https://www.hhs.nd.gov/sites/www/files/documents/medicaid-policies/abortion.pdf"}]},"private_insurance":{"title":"Private insurance: abortion coverage only by optional rider","summary":"Health insurance policies issued in North Dakota may not cover abortion except through an optional rider with an additional premium; an exception exists for life-saving abortions.","description":"Private health insurance plans sold in North Dakota cannot cover abortion as part of their standard benefits package. A person who wants abortion coverage must purchase it as a separate add-on (rider) and pay extra for it. The only exception is when the abortion is needed to save the woman's life — that is covered without a rider.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Justia","href":"https://law.justia.com/codes/north-dakota/title-14/chapter-14-02-3"}]},"exchange_plans":{"title":"Exchange plans subject to same rider requirement","summary":"ACA marketplace plans in North Dakota are subject to the same abortion-coverage restriction: coverage only through an optional rider with additional premium.","description":"Health insurance plans sold through the federal marketplace (ACA plans) in North Dakota also cannot include abortion coverage as a standard benefit. The same rider requirement applies.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Justia","href":"https://law.justia.com/codes/north-dakota/title-14/chapter-14-02-3"}]},"state_funding_of_providers":{"title":"State defunds abortion providers and referral","summary":"State and local funds may not be used by any entity that performs, refers, or encourages abortion; state policy gives preference to childbirth over abortion.","description":"North Dakota law prohibits the use of public funds by any organization that performs, refers for, or encourages abortion. This includes family planning funds. The state's declared policy is that childbirth is preferred over abortion. No state funds may be used to promote abortion.","verification":"verified","confidence":"high","sources":[{"name":"Justia","href":"https://law.justia.com/codes/north-dakota/title-14/chapter-14-02-3"}]}}},"penalties":[{"actor":"Physician performing prohibited abortion","offense":"Performing abortion in violation of N.D.C.C. § 12.1-19.1-02","penalty":"Class C felony: up to 5 years imprisonment, $10,000 fine, or both; plus medical board discipline","verification":"verified","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t12-1c19-1.pdf"}]},{"actor":"Non-physician performing abortion","offense":"Performing abortion without being a licensed physician","penalty":"Class B felony: up to 10 years imprisonment, $20,000 fine, or both","verification":"verified","sources":[{"name":"FindLaw","href":"https://codes.findlaw.com/nd/title-14-domestic-relations-and-persons/nd-cent-code-sect-14-02-1-04.html"}]},{"actor":"Physician violating Abortion Control Act procedures","offense":"Performing abortion without complying with admitting privileges, ultrasound offer, or other ch. 14-02.1 requirements","penalty":"Class A misdemeanor: up to 360 days imprisonment, $3,000 fine, or both","verification":"verified","sources":[{"name":"FindLaw","href":"https://codes.findlaw.com/nd/title-14-domestic-relations-and-persons/nd-cent-code-sect-14-02-1-04.html"}]},{"actor":"Person violating public funding or insurance restrictions","offense":"Violating ch. 14-02.3 (public funds for abortion, insurance restrictions, government hospital ban)","penalty":"Class B misdemeanor: up to 30 days imprisonment, $1,500 fine, or both","verification":"verified","sources":[{"name":"Justia","href":"https://law.justia.com/codes/north-dakota/title-14/chapter-14-02-3"}]},{"actor":"Pregnant woman","offense":"None (expressly exempt from abortion crime; excluded from fetal homicide person definition)","penalty":"No criminal or civil penalty under abortion ban or fetal homicide law","verification":"verified","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t12-1c19-1.pdf"}]}],"recent_changes":[{"date":"2022-06-24","event":"U.S. Supreme Court issues Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, overturning Roe v. Wade. North Dakota's 2007 trigger ban (N.D.C.C. § 12.1-31-12) is designed to take effect 30 days later.","sources":[{"name":"U.S. Supreme Court","href":"https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/19-1392_6j37.pdf"}]},{"date":"2022-08-03","event":"Red River Women's Clinic, North Dakota's sole abortion provider, relocates from Fargo to Moorhead, Minnesota, anticipating the trigger ban's enforcement.","sources":[{"name":"Red River Women's Clinic","href":"https://www.redriverwomensclinic.com"}]},{"date":"2023-03-16","event":"North Dakota Supreme Court in Wrigley v. Romanick affirms preliminary injunction against 2007 trigger ban, holding the state constitution protects a fundamental right to abortion to preserve life or health.","sources":[{"name":"UCLA Law / Center on Reproductive Health, Law, and Policy","href":"https://law.ucla.edu/academics/centers/center-reproductive-health-law-and-policy/history-reproductive-rights-cases/cases/wrigley-v-romanick"}]},{"date":"2023-04-24","event":"Governor Doug Burgum signs SB 2150, enacting N.D.C.C. ch. 12.1-19.1: a new near-total abortion ban with exceptions for life/health and rape/incest (≤6 weeks), repealing the 2007 trigger ban and six other abortion-restriction statutes.","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Legislative Branch","href":"https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/68-2023/regular/documents/23-0137-08000.pdf"}]},{"date":"2024-09-12","event":"Burleigh County District Court Judge Bruce Romanick grants summary judgment for plaintiffs, declaring N.D.C.C. ch. 12.1-19.1 unconstitutionally vague and recognizing a fundamental right to pre-viability abortion under the state constitution.","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Monitor / Courthouse News","href":"https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/2024-12-9-10-52-00-Abortion20ban20order2008-2022-cv-1608-3.pdf"}]},{"date":"2025-01-24","event":"North Dakota Supreme Court denies State's motion to stay the district court's injunction pending appeal, finding the state unlikely to succeed on the merits (Access Indep. Health Servs., 2025 ND 26).","sources":[{"name":"Justia","href":"https://law.justia.com/cases/north-dakota/supreme-court/2025/20240291.html"}]},{"date":"2025-02-12","event":"Four abortion-related bills fail in the North Dakota House: personhood bill HB 1373 (defeated 77-16), 15-week legalization HB 1488 (87-6), IVF protection (59-34), and contraception protection (66-27).","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Monitor","href":"https://northdakotamonitor.com/2025/02/12/abortion-reproductive-rights-bills-rejected-in-north-dakota-house"}]},{"date":"2025-11-21","event":"North Dakota Supreme Court issues final merits decision reversing the district court and upholding the abortion ban. Three justices find the law unconstitutional, but the supermajority rule (requiring four votes) means the two-justice dissent controls. The ban goes into effect.","sources":[{"name":"State Court Report / Brennan Center","href":"https://statecourtreport.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/how-originalism-revived-abortion-ban-majority-north-dakota-supreme-court"}]},{"date":"2026-01-16","event":"Attorney General Drew Wrigley issues a cease-and-desist order against Prairie Abortion Fund under the Consumer Fraud Law, alleging the nonprofit facilitated unlawful sale of abortion pills in North Dakota.","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Attorney General","href":"https://attorneygeneral.nd.gov/attorney-general-wrigley-issues-cease-desist-order-against-prairie-abortion-fund"}]}],"pending_changes":[{"name":"No active bills with realistic prospects","type":"legislation","status":"The 2025 legislative session has concluded. All abortion-related bills — including HB 1373 (personhood), HB 1488 (15-week legalization), HB 1477 (IVF protection), and HB 1478 (contraception protection) — were defeated.","effect":"No legislative changes to the abortion landscape are currently pending. The next regular session is in 2027, though a special session could theoretically be called.","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Monitor","href":"https://northdakotamonitor.com/2025/02/12/abortion-reproductive-rights-bills-rejected-in-north-dakota-house"}]},{"name":"No active abortion litigation with realistic prospects of material change","type":"litigation","status":"The North Dakota Supreme Court's November 2025 merits decision in Access Independent Health Services v. Wrigley is final at the state level. A petition to the U.S. Supreme Court is theoretically possible but would face long odds on a state-constitutional ruling.","effect":"No realistic prospect of immediate change through litigation."},{"name":"No abortion-related ballot measure qualified for 2026","type":"ballot_measure","status":"As of July 2026, no abortion-related ballot measure has qualified for the North Dakota ballot. The three measures certified for 2026 address initiative petition requirements and other structural issues.","effect":"No abortion-rights or personhood ballot measure is pending.","sources":[{"name":"North Dakota Secretary of State","href":"https://www.sos.nd.gov/elections/voter/ballot-measures/measures-ballot"}]}],"key_authorities":[{"name":"N.D.C.C. ch. 12.1-19.1 – Criminal Abortion Ban (SB 2150)","citation":"N.D.C.C. §§ 12.1-19.1-01 through 12.1-19.1-03","type":"statute","url":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t12-1c19-1.pdf","why":"The operative near-total abortion ban, enacted in 2023, making abortion a class C felony with exceptions for life, serious health risk, and rape/incest at ≤6 weeks."},{"name":"N.D.C.C. ch. 14-02.1 – Abortion Control Act","citation":"N.D.C.C. §§ 14-02.1-01 through 14-02.1-07","type":"statute","url":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t14c02-1.pdf","why":"Regulates the circumstances under which lawful abortion may be performed: informed consent, 24-hour waiting period, ultrasound offer, admitting privileges, parental consent, and personhood definitions."},{"name":"N.D. Const. art. I, § 1 – Inalienable Rights","citation":"N.D. Const. art. I, § 1","type":"constitution","url":"https://law.justia.com/constitution/north-dakota/article-i/section-1","why":"The constitutional provision on which the plaintiffs in Wrigley v. Romanick and Access Independent Health Services based their fundamental-rights claims, guaranteeing rights to enjoying and defending life and liberty and pursuing and obtaining safety and happiness."},{"name":"N.D. Const. art. VI, § 4 – Supermajority Rule","citation":"N.D. Const. art. VI, § 4","type":"constitution","url":"https://law.justia.com/constitution/north-dakota/article-vi/section-4","why":"Requires four of five justices to declare a statute unconstitutional; the rule that caused the abortion ban to be upheld despite three justices finding it unconstitutional."},{"name":"Wrigley v. Romanick","citation":"2023 ND 50, 988 N.W.2d 231","type":"case","url":"https://law.ucla.edu/academics/centers/center-reproductive-health-law-and-policy/history-reproductive-rights-cases/cases/wrigley-v-romanick","why":"Held that the state constitution protects a fundamental right to abortion to preserve life or health; prompted the legislature to repeal the trigger ban and enact the current ch. 12.1-19.1."},{"name":"Access Independent Health Services v. Wrigley (Stay Denial)","citation":"2025 ND 26","type":"case","url":"https://law.justia.com/cases/north-dakota/supreme-court/2025/20240291.html","why":"Denied the state's motion to stay the district court's injunction pending appeal; found the state unlikely to succeed on the vagueness challenge."},{"name":"Access Independent Health Services v. Wrigley (Merits)","citation":"2025 ND ___ (Nov. 21, 2025)","type":"case","url":"https://statecourtreport.org/our-work/analysis-opinion/how-originalism-revived-abortion-ban-majority-north-dakota-supreme-court","why":"Final Supreme Court merits decision that upheld the abortion ban under the supermajority rule, reversing the district court and reinstating enforcement."},{"name":"N.D.C.C. ch. 12.1-17.1 – Fetal Homicide","citation":"N.D.C.C. §§ 12.1-17.1-01 through 12.1-17.1-08","type":"statute","url":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t12-1c17-1.pdf","why":"Criminalizes homicide of an unborn child at any stage, but excludes the pregnant woman from person and excepts physician-supervised abortion with consent."},{"name":"Hopkins v. McBane","citation":"359 N.W.2d 862 (N.D. 1984)","type":"case","url":"https://law.justia.com/cases/north-dakota/supreme-court/1984/10697-2.html","why":"Held that North Dakota's wrongful-death statute authorizes a claim for the death of a viable unborn child."},{"name":"N.D.C.C. ch. 14-02.3 – Limitation of Abortion (Funding and Insurance)","citation":"N.D.C.C. §§ 14-02.3-01 through 14-02.3-05","type":"statute","url":"https://law.justia.com/codes/north-dakota/title-14/chapter-14-02-3","why":"Restricts public funding, private insurance coverage, and government-hospital performance of abortion; establishes childbirth-preference policy."},{"name":"N.D.C.C. § 14-02.1-03.1 – Parental Consent / Judicial Bypass","citation":"N.D.C.C. § 14-02.1-03.1","type":"statute","url":"https://ndlegis.gov/cencode/t14c02-1.pdf","why":"Requires consent of both parents for a minor's abortion and establishes the judicial bypass procedure with expedited Supreme Court appeal."},{"name":"North Dakota Medicaid Abortion Policy (July 2025)","citation":"ND HHS Billing and Policy Manual – Abortion","type":"agency_guidance","url":"https://www.hhs.nd.gov/sites/www/files/documents/medicaid-policies/abortion.pdf","why":"Defines Medicaid coverage for abortion: life of the woman and rape/incest only, consistent with the Hyde Amendment."},{"name":"AG Cease & Desist – Prairie Abortion Fund (Jan. 2026)","citation":"Cease & Desist Order, Prairie Abortion Fund (Jan. 16, 2026)","type":"agency_guidance","url":"https://attorneygeneral.nd.gov/attorney-general-wrigley-issues-cease-desist-order-against-prairie-abortion-fund","why":"Demonstrates the state's enforcement posture: using consumer fraud law against entities facilitating abortion-pill access."},{"name":"SB 2150 (2023) Enrolled Bill","citation":"2023 N.D. Sess. Laws ch. 122","type":"statute","url":"https://ndlegis.gov/assembly/68-2023/regular/documents/23-0137-08000.pdf","why":"The enacting legislation that created the current criminal abortion ban in ch. 12.1-19.1 and repealed prior abortion restrictions."}],"research_notes":{"overall_confidence":"high","editor_notes":"Re-verify the current status of the 2025 North Dakota Supreme Court merits opinion — pull the official PDF from the North Dakota Courts website at https://www.ndcourts.gov. Confirm that no petition for U.S. Supreme Court certiorari was filed. Check whether the North Dakota Board of Medicine has issued any guidance on the serious-health-risk exception since the ban was reinstated. The cease-and-desist order against Prairie Abortion Fund dates to January 2026; confirm whether any litigation challenging that order has been filed.","gaps":["The November 2025 North Dakota Supreme Court merits opinion (reversing the district court) was not directly retrieved in full text; its holdings are confirmed through secondary reporting by State Court Report, Center for Reproductive Rights, and Associated Press. A human editor should pull the official opinion.","The interaction between federal FDA approval of mifepristone and North Dakota's criminal ban has not been litigated in a North Dakota-specific case; the federal preemption question remains theoretically open.","Whether general accomplice liability statutes could reach a non-clinical helper of an unlawful abortion has not been tested in North Dakota courts; the analysis is based on statutory text and analogical reasoning.","The practical effect of EMTALA on North Dakota hospital emergency departments (requiring stabilizing treatment including emergency abortion) has not been the subject of North Dakota-specific litigation, unlike in Idaho. The post-Dobbs EMTALA guidance and litigation are in flux."]}}