North Dakota judge won’t block part of abortion law doctors say puts them at risk of prosecution – By Jack Dura (AP News) / Jan 23, 2024
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A North Dakota judge ruled Tuesday that he won’t block a part of a state law that doctors say puts them at risk of prosecution if they perform an abortion to save a patient’s life or health.
State District Judge Bruce Romanick said the request for a preliminary injunction “is not appropriate and the Plaintiffs have presented no authority for the Court to grant the specific relief requested.” The lawsuit will continue to play out in court, with a jury trial set for August.
The request asked the judge to bar the state from enforcing the law against physicians who use their “good-faith medical judgment” to perform an abortion because of complications that could pose “a risk of infection, hemorrhage, high blood pressure, or which otherwise makes continuing a pregnancy unsafe.”
Physicians face “the harm of having the threat of criminal prosecution hanging over their head every time they treat a patient with a medical complication,” attorney Meetra Mehdizadeh, of the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in court arguments last month.
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