BISMARCK, North Dakota: A planned trial in a case against North Dakota’s abortion ban was pushed back to Monday while the judge decides whether to throw out the case. It wasn’t clear right away why the trial was called off.
In a notice about the trial, State District Judge Bruce Romanick told the people involved that the trial from August 26th to 30th has been stopped and will no longer happen. The notice comes almost a week after the state and claimants, which includes North Dakota’s only abortion clinic at one point, told the judge why the case should be thrown out or kept going to trial.
In his notice, Romanick said that he would send out “full findings on summary judgment and/or a new notice of trial as soon as possible following this Notice.” He also put off until further notice the dates for filings in court before the trial.
The plaintiffs are represented by the Center for Reproductive Rights. A spokesperson for that group said they did not know anything else right away besides the warning.
People who perform abortions are guilty of a criminal offense in North Dakota. However, there are exceptions for situations where the mother is in danger of dying or is at “serious health risk,” or where she has been raped or sexually abused within the first six weeks.
The people who filed the lawsuit said that the abortion ban breaks the state constitution because it is too unclear about doctors’ exceptions and the health exception is too narrow. They were ready for the trial to start.
The AP sent Drew Wrigley, the attorney general of North Dakota, a text message.
The Red River Women’s Clinic filed the case in 2022, and the state asked for summary judgment to throw out the complaint. Last week in court, Special Assistant Attorney General Dan Gaustad said that the plaintiff’s case is based on hypotheticals and that the clinic and its medical head, who is now in Minnesota, do not have the right to be in court. He also said that a trial would not change anything.
Soon after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the Red River Women’s Clinic was the first group to sue the state over its now-repealed trigger ban. After that, the center moved from Fargo, North Dakota, to Moorhead, Minnesota, which is close by. The North Dakota Legislature, which was run by Republicans, changed the state’s abortion laws in 2023. Not long after that, the clinic made a new complaint with the help of obstetricians, gynecologists, and doctors who specialize in maternal-fetal medicine.
