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North Dakota judge strikes down abortion ban
Under the judge’s order, abortion would be legal in North Dakota, but the state currently has no clinics performing them.
BISMARCK, N.D. — A state judge struck down North Dakota’s ban on abortion Thursday, saying that the state constitution creates a fundamental right to access abortion before a fetus is viable.
In his ruling, state District Judge Bruce Romanick also said the law violates the state constitution because it is too vague.
Under the judge’s order, abortion would be legal in North Dakota, but the state currently has no clinics performing them, and the Republican-dominated state government would be expected to appeal the ruling.
Romanick was ruling on a request from the state to dismiss a 2022 lawsuit filed against the ban by what at the time was the sole abortion clinic in North Dakota. The clinic has since moved across the border to Minnesota, and the state argued that a trial wouldn’t make a difference. The judge had canceled a trial set for August.
Romanick cited how North Dakota’s Constitution guarantees “inalienable rights,” including “life and liberty.”
“The abortion statutes at issue in this case infringes on a woman’s fundamental right to procreative autonomy, and are not narrowly tailored to promote women’s health or to protect unborn human life,” Romanick wrote in his 24-page order. “The law as currently drafted takes away a woman’s liberty and her right to pursue and obtain safety and happiness.”
The offices of Republican Gov. Doug Burgum and GOP state Attorney General Drew Wrigley did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Meetra Mehdizadeh, staff attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights, which supports abortion rights and challenges state bans, said the ruling “means it is now much safer to be pregnant in North Dakota.” But she said the “damage” from the ban cannot be undone overnight because clinics can take years to open.
The Red River Women’s Clinic, which had been North Dakota’s sole abortion provider, moved from Fargo to neighboring Moorhead, Minnesota. The clinic filed the original lawsuit in 2022 against the state’s now-repealed trigger ban, weeks after the fall of Roe v. Wade.
“There are no abortion clinics left in North Dakota,” Mehdizadeh said in a statement. “That means most people seeking an abortion still won’t be able to get one, even though it is legal.”
Romanick was first elected a district judge in heavily GOP North Dakota in 2000 and has been reelected every six years since, most recently in 2018. Before he was a judge, he was an assistant state’s attorney in Burleigh County, home to the state capital of Bismarck.
The judge acknowledged in his ruling that in the past, the North Dakota courts had previously relied on federal court precedents on abortion, but said those state precedents had been “upended” by the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn Roe v. Wade and allowed states to ban abortion under the U.S. Constitution.
Romanick said he’d been left with “relatively no idea” how the North Dakota Supreme Court would address the issue, and so his ruling was his “best effort” to “apply the law as written to the issue presented” while protecting the fundamental rights of the state’s residents.
“Pregnant women in North Dakota have a fundamental right to choose abortion before viability exists under the enumerated and unenumerated interests provided by the North Dakota Constitution,” the judge wrote.
In many respects, Romanick’s order mirrors one from the Kansas Supreme Court in 2019, declaring access to abortion a fundamental right under similar provisions in that state’s constitution, though the Kansas court did not limit its ruling to before a fetus is viable. Voters in Kansas affirmed that position in an August 2022 statewide vote.
Romanick concluded that the law is too vague because it does not set clear enough standards for determining whether exceptions apply, leaving doctors open to being prosecuted because others disagree with their judgments.
In 2023, North Dakota’s Republican-controlled Legislature revised the state’s abortion laws, making abortion legal in pregnancies caused by rape or incest, but only in the first six weeks of pregnancy. Under the revised law, abortion was allowed later in pregnancy only in specific medical emergencies.
Soon after that, the clinic, joined by several doctors in obstetrics, gynecology and maternal-fetal medicine, filed an amended complaint. The plaintiffs alleged the abortion ban violates the state constitution because it is unconstitutionally vague about its exceptions for doctors, and that its health exception is too narrow.
Romanick acknowledged that when North Dakota became a state in 1889, its founders likely would not have recognized abortion access as a right under the state constitution, but added, “women were not treated as full and equal citizens.”
The judge said that in examining history and tradition, he hoped that people would learn that “there was a time when we got it wrong and when women did not have a voice.”
“This does not need to continue for all time, and the sentiments of the past, alone, need not rule the present for all time,” he wrote.
Family told 13News that 39-year-old Derek Sink visited a tanning bed on Friday and was found dead there Monday morning.
INDIANAPOLIS — UPDATE: Planet Fitness has released the following statement:
“We were deeply saddened by the passing of one of our members, and the franchise owner is working with the local authorities in their investigation,” said Chief Corporate Affairs Officer McCall Gosselin. “At Planet Fitness, we have robust operational brand protocols in place, as the safety and well-being of our members is our top priority. We are working closely with our local franchisee to ensure they are upholding those brand protocols.”
13News reached out to the Marion County Health Department and the Better Business Bureau. Both tell us they are aware of IMPD’s investigation, but are not launching any of their own at this time.
Police are conducting death investigation at a south Indianapolis gym after a man was found dead in a tanning bed Monday morning.
A sign on the door of the Planet Fitness on Hardegan Street, near U.S. 31 and County Line Road, Nov. 11 said, “tanning is currently unavailable.”
Family confirmed to 13News that 39-year-old Derek Sink went into a tanning bed on Friday, Nov. 8 and was found dead there Monday morning. Family said Sink struggled with drugs and a needle was found in the room with him.
The cause of Sink’s death has not yet been determined.
Sink’s aunt said they reported him missing on Friday. She said he was wearing an ankle monitor that helped investigators determine he never left the gym.
A woman who was at Planet Fitness that morning, before law enforcement showed up, said she and other members noticed a foul smell in the building that got worse near the tanning rooms. Now, she said she’s wondering how something like this could happen.
“The tanning bed has a door, I believe, but still, why are we not concerned that the tanning bed has been closed for three days, potentially?” Elizabeth Len asked.
Sink’s family called him a loving person. They said they hope to see stricter policies on cleaning and an end-of-day checklist for staff to prevent this from happening again.
13News reached out to IMPD and Planet Fitness. Police could only confirm they were investigating a death at that location and did not elaborate on the circumstances.
A spokesperson for Planet Fitness said they’re looking into what happened with the local franchise owner.
The announcement came just weeks after Minneapolis resident Davis Moturi was shot by his neighbor John Sawchak after a months-long dispute.
MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis Police and the Minneapolis NAACP announced a strengthened partnership Tuesday to address neighbor disputes in the city.
The announcement came just weeks after Minneapolis resident Davis Moturi was allegedly shot by his neighbor John Sawchak after a months-long dispute.
“Mr. Moturi called the police several times. He did everything he was supposed to do. Unfortunately, the Minneapolis Police Department alone was not able to provide that help for him,” Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said.
Police say the department receives more than 2,000 neighbor/tenant complaints a year, which amounts to about 45 calls a week.
Chief O’Hara says these cases are challenging for police to deal with on their own.
“These are often complicated cases and all of them are difficult for police to deal with, particularly those that are civil and do not rise to criminal issues or violence,” O’Hara said.
NAACP Minneapolis President Cynthia Wilson says community groups have long been involved in solving neighborly disputes, but a stronger partnership with police will help community leaders reach more residents who need help.
“This initiative was created to give more options,” Wilson said.
“We’re not going to solve every situation, but we are being proactive.”
Wilson says community leaders are still working out the finer details of how this strengthened partnership will work.
She says residents who are experiencing problems can still call the police for help, or one of several community groups that are involved in this new partnership.
“You’ve got social workers, you got community crime prevention, you got community engagement, inspectors, there are so many different arms to this that will allow us to impact the community effectively,” Wilson said.
Some of these community groups involved in this strengthened partnership include the Minneapolis Unity Community Mediation Team, NAACP Minneapolis, Indigenous Protector Movement, Little Earth Residents Association, New Salem Baptist Church, Cedar Riverside Opportunity Center, Voice of East Africa Women, Nuestra Lucha and Quorum.
Wilson says she and other community leaders are also looking for volunteers and mediators who may be interested in joining their cause.
Hours after this announcement was made, the Minneapolis City Council listened to concerns from the community during a scheduled public comment period Tuesday afternoon.
Dozens of community members showed up at the meeting to raise concerns about how Minneapolis Police handled Moturi’s complaints regarding his neighbor John Sawchak.
Some community members demanded changes such as asking Chief O’Hara and Mayor Jacob Frey to step down from their positions.
Other community members urged the Minneapolis City Council to wait until MPD’s internal investigation is complete before making any significant changes to the department.
During a press event Tuesday Chief O’Hara said the internal investigation into the Moturi case is still ongoing and there is no timeline for when the investigation will be complete.
The suit follows Minnesota-based UnitedHealth’s acquisition of LHC Group Inc., another home health and hospice provider.
MINNETONKA, Minn. — The Justice Department is suing to block UnitedHealth Group’s $3.3 billion purchase of Amedisys, citing concerns the combination would hinder access to home health and hospice services in the U.S.
The antitrust complaint was filed in Maryland federal court Tuesday. In a statement, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the government is challenging UnitedHealth and Amedisys’ proposed merger because “patients and their families experiencing some of the most difficult moments of their lives deserve affordable, high quality care options.”
The suit follows Minnesota-based UnitedHealth’s acquisition of LHC Group Inc., another home health and hospice provider. Since that transaction’s completion last year, the Justice Department said, UnitedHealth and Amedisys have emerged as the two largest providers of home health and hospice care in the country.
The department argues that eliminating competition between UnitedHealth and Amedisys “would harm patients who receive home health and hospice services, insurers who contract for home health services, and nurses who provide home health and hospice services.”
Four states’ attorneys general — from Maryland, Illinois, New Jersey and New York — are joining the Justice Department in the antitrust complaint.
UnitedHealth is seeking to add Amedisys to Optum, its subsidiary that provides care as well as pharmacy and technology services. Optum said Tuesday the acquisition “would be pro-competitive and further innovation.” It said it plans to “vigorously defend (itself) against the DOJ’s overreaching interpretation of the antitrust laws.”
Louisiana-based Amedisys added that it also remains committed to the deal, which it believes “will create more opportunities to deliver quality, compassionate and value-based care to patients and their families.”
Beyond its Optum unit, UnitedHealth Group also runs one of the nation’s largest health insurers, UnitedHealthcare. Last month, UnitedHealth reported a third-quarter net income of $6.06 billion on revenue of $100.82 billion.
