North Dakota's Gov. Doug Burgum has signed a bill into law that is now one of the toughest pieces of anti-abortion legislation in the United States.
The bill revised the state's near-total abortion ban to add in language that would address a doctor's fear of prosecution.
Burgum said, “This bill clarifies and refines existing state law which was triggered into effect by the Dobbs decision (from the U.S. Supreme Court) and reaffirms North Dakota as a pro-life state.”
There are now bans on abortion at all stages of a pregnancy in at least 13 states nationwide.
North Dakota's Senate Bill 2150 is meant to revise language from an earlier piece of proposed legislation in 2007 called the state's trigger ban along with the 2013 "heartbeat bill." The revisions take into consideration the Supreme Court's decision last year to overturn the U.S. constitutional right to abortion.
Though the law takes effect immediately, North Dakota's Supreme Court ruled that a previous ban would be blocked as a case over the constitutionality of the law goes through the court system.
The state of North Dakota does not currently have any abortion clinics after a facility in Fargo shut its doors last summer.
Under state law in North Dakota, a doctor could be charged with a Class C felony for performing an abortion even during medical emergencies or in cases of rape or incest. The could have the ability to argue it in court under certain conditions.
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