Wrigley v. Romanick

In 2007, the North Dakota legislature enacted a statute making it a criminal felony to provide an abortion under all circumstances, including if the abortion was necessary to save the pregnant woman’s life or health. That statute provided that a healthcare provider who was charged with a felony could present an affirmative defense that the abortion had been necessary to preserve the woman’s life or health. This affirmative defense could be raised only after the provider had been charged, and the provider was required to convince a jury of the necessity using a preponderance-of-the-evidence standard. Finally, the statute provided that it would become effective once the United States Supreme Court issued an opinion authorizing states to regulate abortion. In 2022, the Supreme Court issued an opinion in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization authorizing states to regulate abortion, and North Dakota considered the statute effective. A group of medical providers and others (plaintiffs) sued to prevent the statute’s enforcement, arguing that the North Dakota Constitution gave pregnant women a fundamental right to an abortion and that the statute violated this fundamental right. The trial court granted a preliminary injunction enjoining the state from enforcing the statute. The North Dakota Supreme Court agreed to review the matter.