ND sets date for when abortion will be illegal

BISMARCK, N.D. (Valley News Live) - The North Dakota Attorney General is setting a date for when abortions will be illegal in the state.

In a letter to the ND Legislative Council, Attorney General Drew Wrigley says abortion will become illegal on July 28, 2022.

The law goes into effect as part of House Bill 1466, passed by the 2007 legislature and signed by then Gov. John Hoeven. That law bans abortion with “delineated exceptions for rape, incest and preserving the life of the mother” according to the letter to the Legislative Council.

House Bill 1546 passed by the 2019 legislature and signed by Gov. Doug Burgum bans a certain abortion method known as “Dilation and Evacuation” except in cases of medical emergencies.

Kaiser Permanente describes dilation and evacuation abortion as a procedure done in the second trimester that usually involves a combination of vacuum aspiration and using surgical tools such as forceps to remove the fetus.

However, there are still many things we don’t know about the change to the law. While North Dakota’s law includes exceptions for when a mother’s life is in danger, we don’t know how that will be determined.

As for non-viable pregnancies, our reading of the law is that women will still be required to carry them to term, or until their life is in danger. We reached out to women’s healthcare professionals across the valley, who say that is how they are interpreting the law as well.

Full letter from the attorney general to the ND Legislative Council can be found here.