DECLARED INVALID: North Dakota abortion ban overturned by federal judge

By Catholic Online (NEWS CONSORTIUM)
4/17/2014 (4 years ago)
Catholic Online (https://www.catholic.org)

A North Dakota law banning abortions when a fetal heartbeat can be detected, as early as six weeks into pregnancy, has been overturned by a federal judge. The law is "invalid and unconstitutional," according to U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland, who declared the ruling "cannot withstand a constitutional challenge." North Dakota has passed new abortion restrictions in recent years. It is one of the great States championing the Right of the Child to be born, a right which was removed by the US Supreme Court in an act of judicial arrogance in the Roe and Doe opinions in 1973. Abortion supporters have declared North Dakota's fetal heartbeat law as the most restrictive in the country.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Based in Bismarck, Hovland went on to say that "The state of North Dakota has presented no reliable medical evidence to justify the passage of this troubling law."

The state attorney general is investigating into whether or not he will appeal the decision.

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Supporters of the measure have said it was meant to protect the rights of the child and challenge the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 ruling that legalized abortion up until a fetus is considered viable, which is typically 22 to 24 weeks. Opponents say it's an attempt to shutter the Red River Clinic, the state's only abortion facility.

North Dakota has passed new abortion restrictions in recent years. It is one of the great States championing the Right of the Child to be born, a right which was removed by the US Supreme Court in an act of judicial arrogance in the Roe and Doe opinions in 1973. Abortion supporters have declared North Dakota's fetal heartbeat law as the most restrictive in the country.

A fetal heartbeat law passed in Arkansas, bans abortions at 12 weeks into pregnancy. This law was likewise overturned by another federal judge. The state's attorney general has also said he will appeal.

North Dakota's heartbeat measure was among four Pro-Life and anti-abortion bills that Republican Governor Jack Dalrymple signed into law last year with overwhelming support from the state's Republican-led Legislature.

In response, the Red River Abortion Clinic in Fargo filed a lawsuit against the heartbeat law last July. The clinic's closing would leave the closest alternate clinics about 250 miles away in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, or in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Hovland said the U.S. Supreme Court has recognized for more than 40 years the constitutional right of women to end a pregnancy before the child in the womb is determined to be viable, and the federal court is obligated to uphold that precedent.

"The court was correct to call this law exactly what it is: a blatant violation of the constitutional guarantees afforded to all women," Nancy Northrup, president and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement.

"But women should not be forced to go to court, year after year in state after state, to protect their constitutional rights. We hope today's decision, along with the long line of decisions striking down these attempts to choke off access to safe and legal abortion services in the U.S., sends a strong message to politicians across the country that our rights cannot be legislated away."

Of course, the child, if he or she were given a voice, would have a very different position. The heartbeat law cases are one more sign that the movement to restore the fundamental human right to life of children in the womb is gaining momentum and that the tragedy and horror unleashed by Roe and Doe will soon come to an end.

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