Federal Court Temporarily Enjoins North Dakota 6-Week Abortion Ban

Center for Reproductive Rights press release: Federal Judge in ND Blocks the Nation's Earliest and Most Extreme Abortion Ban: 

. . . According to U.S. District Judge Daniel L. Hovland's ruling today:

"The State has extended an invitation to an expensive court battle over a law restricting abortions that is a blatant violation of the constitutional guarantees afforded to all women. The United States Supreme Court has unequivocally said that no state may deprive a woman of the choice to terminate her pregnancy at a point prior to viability. North Dakota House Bill 1456 is clearly unconstitutional under an unbroken stream of United States Supreme Court authority." . . .

New York Times: Judge Blocks North Dakota Abortion Restrictions, by Erik Eckholm:

A federal judge on Monday blocked enforcement of North Dakota’s recently enacted ban on most abortions, calling it “invalid and unconstitutional.” . . .

The law under challenge, which was set to take effect Aug. 1, would have imposed by far the country’s most stringent limit on abortions. With few exceptions, it would bar the procedure once a fetal heartbeat is detected, often about six weeks into pregnancy — a point when many women are not aware they are pregnant. . . .