Judge strikes down North Dakota's near-total abortion ban

A North Dakota judge has struck down the state’s near-total abortion ban, ruling that it violates the state’s constitution and clearing the way for the procedure to become legal in the state.

District Judge Bruce Romanick wrote that women have a “fundamental right” to abortion before foetal viability under the North Dakota state constitution.

An abortion clinic filed a legal challenge to the state’s ban, and the state of North Dakota was trying to have the lawsuit thrown out.

Enacted last year, the law created exceptions if the mother's life is threatened, though rape and incest victims were only eligible for an abortion during the first six-weeks of pregnancy.