Abortion in North Dakota

Abortion in North Dakota is illegal. The state's sole abortion clinic relocated to Minnesota.

Following the United States Supreme Court's ruling to overturn Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, the state's trigger law, HB 1466, has been blocked by a district court since July. Under the trigger law, performance of an abortion is a Class C felony subject to a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment, a $10,000 fine, or both. The person performing the abortion who is charged under the law can only be excused from criminal liability by proving one of the following affirmative defenses: the abortion was necessary to prevent the death of the mother, the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest, or the individual performing the abortion was acting in the scope of his or her regulated profession and under the direction of a physician. A state district court issued a preliminary injunction preventing enforcement of the law while the court is deciding the merits of the case, and the North Dakota Supreme Court has upheld this injunction.