--- description: A federal judge calls the North Dakota law unconstitutional title: Judge Overturns Abortion Banning Law in North Dakota image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6f2ae76dcdba51bf/69868af53bc999ae131a2fa1/ap172274338424.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Living](/tag/time-section-living/) ## Living Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Judge Overturns North Dakota Early Abortion Ban  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Apr 16, 2014 5:31 PM CUT  Members of an abortion rights group rally outside the Cass County Courthouse in Fargo, N.D., Wednesday, July 31, 2013. Members of an abortion rights group rally outside the Cass County Courthouse in Fargo, N.D., Wednesday, July 31, 2013.Dave Kolpack—AP  by [Eliana Dockterman](/author/eliana-dockterman/)  ## Eliana Dockterman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Correspondent Apr 16, 2014 5:31 PM CUT A federal judge [overturned](http://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2014/04/16/us-judge-overturns-north-dakota-abortion-law "undefined") Wednesday a North Dakota law that banned early abortions, the Associated Press reports. The law made it illegal for a woman to get an abortion after a fetal heartbeat was detected. That can happen as early as six weeks into pregnancy—often before a woman even knows she’s pregnant. U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland ruled that the law was “invalid and unconstitutional.” North Dakota has [only one abortion clinic](http://nation.time.com/2013/01/22/40-years-after-roe-inside-north-dakotas-only-abortion-clinic/ "undefined"), located in Fargo. The Fargo clinic filed a lawsuit against the early abortion ban in July with the support of the New York-based Center for Reproductive rights. The overturned law was among four anti-abortion bills that North Dakota Republican Gov. Jack Dalrymple signed in 2013 with the support of the state’s Republican-dominated legislature. \[[_AP_](http://www.usnews.com/news/politics/articles/2014/04/16/us-judge-overturns-north-dakota-abortion-law "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/65297/north-dakota-abortion-ban/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/65297/north-dakota-abortion-ban/"},"headline":"Judge Overturns North Dakota Early Abortion Ban","datePublished":"2014-04-16T17:31:22.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:55:09.025Z","description":"U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland said the state's abortion restrictions were \"invalid and unconstitutional.\" The law made it illegal for women to undergo the procedure after a fetal heartbeat was detected, which can happen as early as six weeks into pregnancy","url":"https://time.com/65297/north-dakota-abortion-ban/","keywords":["Living","abortion","pro-choice","pro-life","North Dakota"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6f2ae76dcdba51bf/69868af53bc999ae131a2fa1/ap172274338424.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Eliana Dockterman","jobTitle":"Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/eliana-dockterman/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6f2ae76dcdba51bf/69868af53bc999ae131a2fa1/ap172274338424.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Abortion North Dakota","caption":"Abortion North Dakota","creditText":"Dave Kolpack—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/65297/north-dakota-abortion-ban/","name":"Judge Overturns North Dakota Early Abortion Ban"}}]}] ```