North Dakota and Georgia abortion bans struck down
On Sept. 12, a North Dakota district court overturned North Dakota’s abortion ban, which prohibited nearly all abortions except when necessary to prevent death or serious health risk or in certain cases of rape or incest.
The court found the law unconstitutionally void for vagueness, writing that the law “simply does not allow a physician to know against which standard his conduct will be tested and his liability determined.” As the result, the court found a profound chilling effect on the willingness of doctors to perform abortion to preserve a patient’s life or health. The court also found that “pregnant women in North Dakota have a fundamental right to choose abortion before viability” under the state constitution. The order was formally entered on Sept. 26 and the state Attorney General has requested a stay until the state Supreme Court makes a final decision on the case.
On Sept. 30, a Georgia district court also overturned Georgia’s abortion ban, which prohibited abortion when “embryonic or fetal cardiac activity” was detected, generally after six weeks of pregnancy. The District Court found the law violative of the constitutionally protected rights to liberty and privacy, writing that, “liberty in Georgia includes in its meaning, in its protections, and in its bundle of rights the power of a woman to control her own body, to decide what happens to it and in it, and to reject state interference with her healthcare choices” until the fetus reaches viability, at which point “then—and only then—may society intervene.” The case is expected to be appealed and decided by the Georgia Supreme Court.
The AMA strongly opposes any government or any other third-party interference that compromises or criminalizes patient access to safe, evidence-based medical care, including abortion. Along with the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and other professional medical associations, the AMA has submitted amicus briefs urging courts in North Dakota, Georgia and numerous other states to reject laws prohibiting abortion care.
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