Abortion remains legal in North Dakota.

North Dakota’s pro-life law prohibits providers from performing abortions in all cases except rape or incest if the mother has been pregnant less than six weeks, or when the pregnancy would be considered a serious physical health threat under “reasonable medical judgment.”  The law establishes penalties of up to five years in prison and a maximum $10,000 fine for anyone found in violation of the law which, incidentally, is the same penalty for animal cruelty causing serious injury or death.  However, the fastest-growing, most common, and most accessible method of abortion remains 100% legal.  Pregnant women in every pro-life state, including North Dakota, have the legal right to self-induce their own abortions because all pro-life legislation exempts pregnant mothers and gives them blanket legal immunity when they purposefully cause the death of their preborn child through abortion pills or homemade concoctions.

North Dakota’s pro-life legislation has driven the last remaining abortion clinic from our state, but the abortion industry retains a significant presence within our borders through online access to abortion pills.  Clinics are becoming more obsolete by the day as 2/3 of all abortions are now self-induced and take place inside women’s homes.  While it is illegal to prescribe or sell abortion pills in the state of North Dakota, it is not illegal to purchase them, and it is not illegal to self-administer them. Anyone can easily purchase abortion pills online, even without a prescription. However, if women prefer to obtain a prescription through a provider, she has the option to choose online clinics in blue states with laws that shield abortion providers from being prosecuted by red states. Abortion has never been more attainable, affordable, and anonymous than it is today.

Because North Dakota’s pro-life law prioritizes the perceived victimhood status of the pregnant mother over her child’s unalienable right to life, the lives of abortion-vulnerable preborn children remain unprotected.

What is the solution?

We must stop regulating abortion, and instead, abolish it completely by extending equal protection under the law for preborn children as required by both God’s Law and the 14th Amendment.

On January 14, 2025, Representative Lori VanWinkle filed the first bill of equal protection introduced in the state of North Dakota. This bill would have abolished abortion completely by criminalizing the act of abortion as homicide, assault, or wrongful death. A coalition of grassroots conservatives published a joint statement in support of HB 1373. Signers included North Dakota RNC committee members Lori Hinz and Steve Nagel, Brandon Prichard of ND Citizens Alliance, Dr. Abby Johnson, and a dozen ND Republican District chairs. During the committee hearing on February 5, opposition to the bill came not only from pro-abortion Democrats, but from leaders of pro-life organizations like ND Family Alliance and ND Catholic Conference. ND Right to Life remained neutral on the bill. Ultimately, the Republican-dominated House of Representatives chose to keep abortion legal for pregnant mothers and defeated the bill by a vote of 77-16. The pro-life establishment at both the state and national level was instrumental in defeating HB 1373. Objections to the bill can be read along with the corresponding responses here.

The only way to ban all types of abortion is to extend equal protection under the law for preborn children. North Dakota will get another chance to do just that during the next legislative session in 2027.