--- description: More than 60 North Dakota lawmakers demanded a higher court revisit an overturned state law that would have banned abortions on fetuses with a detectable heartbeat title: North Dakota's Abortion Ban Headed for Higher Court image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Law](/tag/law/) ## Law Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # North Dakota Pushes 'Heartbeat' Abortion Ban to Higher Court  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 14, 2014 5:48 PM CUT  by [Dan Kedmey](/author/dan-kedmey/)  ## Dan Kedmey Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 14, 2014 5:48 PM CUT North Dakota’s Attorney General will [appeal](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/nd-appeals-federal-judges-ruling-abortion-ban "undefined") a court’s decision to strike down a state law banning the vast majority of abortions. U.S. District Judge Daniel Hovland overturned the ban last month, calling the law “invalid and unconstitutional.” It would make abortions illegal from the time the fetus develops a heartbeat, which can often be detected six weeks into a pregnancy. Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem filed an appeal on Wednesday, the Associated Press [reports](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/nd-appeals-federal-judges-ruling-abortion-ban "undefined"). The motion was supported by more than 60 North Dakota lawmakers. \[[_AP_](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/nd-appeals-federal-judges-ruling-abortion-ban "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/99470/north-dakota-pushes-heartbeat-abortion-ban-to-higher-court/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/99470/north-dakota-pushes-heartbeat-abortion-ban-to-higher-court/"},"headline":"North Dakota Pushes 'Heartbeat' Abortion Ban to Higher Court","datePublished":"2014-05-14T17:48:56.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T07:50:09.433Z","description":"More than 60 North Dakota lawmakers demanded a higher court revisit an overturned state law that would have banned abortions on fetuses with a detectable heartbeat","url":"https://time.com/99470/north-dakota-pushes-heartbeat-abortion-ban-to-higher-court/","keywords":["Law","abortion","pro-choice","pro-life","Courts","Ban"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Dan Kedmey","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/dan-kedmey/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[],"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":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/law/","name":"Law"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/99470/north-dakota-pushes-heartbeat-abortion-ban-to-higher-court/","name":"North Dakota Pushes 'Heartbeat' Abortion Ban to Higher Court"}}]}] ```