North Dakota Abortion Clinic to Appeal Supreme Court Ruling

An abortion clinic in North Dakota is petitioning the state's Supreme Court to review a ruling that said barring one of two medications to induce abortion was not unconstitutional.

Earlier this month, the state's Supreme Court ruled that a law barring the use of one of two medications needed for an abortion does not go against the state's constitution. Lawyers representing the Red River Women's Clinic in Fargo argue, however, that the law effectively bans abortion pills in the state, because both pills are needed to successfully perform the procedure.

According to the Star Tribune, attorneys representing the clinic filed a petition for review so they may "resolve any lingering ambiguity" in regard to the 2011 law.

When the Supreme Court made its decision last month, David Brown, an attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights, said that: "Beginning tomorrow morning, there will not be any medication abortions in North Dakota."

The Center for Reproductive Rights is aiding the Red River Women's Clinic in fighting their case against the 2011 state law.

The Supreme Court said in their opinion of the ruling that "the effect of the separate opinions in this case is that (the law) is not declared unconstitutional by a sufficient majority."

Two of the state's justices, Chief Justice Gerald VandeWalle and Justice Dale Sandstrom, found that the 2011 law coincided with the state's constitution. VandeWalle added that he believes the law is in line with the U.S. Constitution.