N.D. governor signs nation's strictest abortion laws

Judy Keen, USA TODAY | USA TODAY

North Dakota Gov. Jack Dalrymple signed bills Tuesday making the state's abortion laws the nation's most restrictive and setting the stage for what he called a U.S. Supreme Court challenge of "the boundaries of Roe v. Wade."

The bills bar abortions if a fetal heartbeat is heard, which can be six weeks into a pregnancy; ban abortions prompted by genetic defects; and require abortion doctors to have hospital admitting privileges. They become law Aug. 1 unless a court blocks them.

North Dakota residents will vote in 2014 on a ballot measure that defines life as starting at conception.

Paul Maloney of North Dakota Right to Life calls Tuesday "a landmark day." Sarah Stoesz of Planned Parenthood in Minnesota and the Dakotas says Dalrymple, "with one swipe of his pen ... severely compromised" women's health.

Dalrymple, a Republican, said the likelihood of the fetal heartbeat bill surviving a court challenge "remains in question" and asked the Legislature to create a legal fund.

Roe v. Wade, a 1973 Supreme Court ruling, legalized abortion until a fetus can survive outside the womb, usually at about 24 weeks.

Donna Crane of NARAL Pro-Choice America, says the organization is concerned about the number of state bills seeking to outlaw abortion. Arkansas legislators passed a 12-week ban this month. Legislators who support such bills "are completely out of touch," she says.

Of the 425 state bills NARAL is tracking, 209 would limit abortions. In 23 states, Republican governors preside over legislatures where both chambers are controlled by the GOP.

Mary Spaulding Balch of National Right to Life says "pain-capable unborn child" bills that bar abortions after pain can be felt in the 20th week or earlier might be a better Supreme Court challenge because they rely on "science that wasn't available in 1973."

Ian Bartrum, a professor of constitutional law, says the latest laws are likely to end up in court, but he doubts they will succeed.

State Sen. Connie Triplett, a Democrat who voted against one of North Dakota's bills and walked out in protest during votes on the others, is disappointed. The measures are not "reflective of the citizens of North Dakota," she says.

Sen. Margaret Sitte, a Republican who supports the measures, says "the tide is turning" in public support for ending abortion.