North Dakota judge strikes down state abortion ban

A North Dakota judge on Thursday struck down a ban on abortion in the state, saying the state constitution creates a fundamental right to access abortion before a fetus is viable.

In his ruling, state District Judge Bruce Romanick also said that the law violates the state constitution because it is too vague, according to the Associated Press. 

The case before Romanick was to rule on a request from the state to dismiss a lawsuit filed against the ban in 2022 by what at the time was the sole abortion clinic in North Dakota, the wire service also reports.