North Dakota
North Dakota’s overturned abortion ban won’t be in effect during appeal, court rules
North Dakota’s abortion ban will not be enforced while the state appeals an earlier decision that found it unconstitutional, the state’s highest court ruled Friday.
That appeal has yet to fully play out in the state Supreme Court after a judge struck down the law in September.
North Dakota has had no abortion providers since the only one moved from Fargo to neighboring Moorhead, Minnesota, in 2022. The only scenarios in which North Dakotans can currently obtain an abortion in the state would be for life- or health-preserving reasons at a hospital.
The plaintiffs had contended that keeping the overturned ban from being enforced was important for patients with pregnancy complications who go to a hospital seeking medical care that might be delayed because of the law.
Attorneys for the state had asked the North Dakota Supreme Court to let the ban be enforced pending appeal. They said a stay “is warranted because this case presents serious, difficult, and unresolved constitutional questions that are of profound importance to the people of this State,” among other reasons.
State District Judge Bruce Romanick had earlier denied such a request, saying: “It would be non-sensical for this Court to keep a law it has found to be unconstitutional in effect pending appeal.”
The Center for Reproductive Rights, which represents the abortion clinic and several physicians who challenged the law, opposed enforcement of the overturned ban. The court heard oral arguments on the state’s request in November.
In the three-member majority opinion, Justice Daniel Crothers cited several legal reasons against the state’s arguments, writing at one point: “The upshot of the State’s argument is that any decision that recognizes a previously unobserved constitutional right should warrant a stay. We reject the request to adopt such a tenuous connection between the proposition advanced by the State and our precedent.”
The plaintiffs welcomed the decision.
“Today’s decision to keep the abortion ban blocked was the only logical outcome,” Meetra Mehdizadeh, senior staff attorney at the center, said in a statement. “People are dying without access to abortion, and still the State sought to stop pregnant North Dakotans facing dangerous situations from getting the care they need. It’s shameful. We will not stop fighting until this ban is struck down once and for all.”
In a statement, North Dakota Attorney General Drew Wrigley said: “This is only a decision on the stay motion, not on the constitutional merits of the legislation. North Dakota will continue moving forward to fully litigate this matter before the state Supreme Court, where we intend to establish that the law passed by our legislature is clearly constitutional.”
The case has had a winding road since the Red River Women’s Clinic initially challenged the state’s previous abortion ban in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022.
In 2023, North Dakota’s Republican-controlled Legislature revised the state’s abortion laws. That law criminalized the performance of an abortion as a felony, with the only exceptions to save the life of a mother or to prevent a “serious health risk” to her. The ban also allowed for abortions in cases of rape or incest but only up to six weeks gestation, which is often before many women know they are pregnant. The plaintiffs said the law was unconstitutionally vague and its health exception too narrow.
Republican state Sen. Janne Myrdal, who introduced the 2023 bill that became law, said she doesn’t view Friday’s decision as a setback.
“It’s not a reflection of the validity of the constitutionality of the law … and I don’t read anything more into that fact, actually,” Myrdal said.
A Center for Reproductive Rights spokesperson said the clinic has no current plans to return to North Dakota.
FARGO — Picture the classic Hallmark Christmas movie: light snow drifts over a festively decorated town square as a big-city protagonist returns to her charming, but small hometown, and, against all odds, discovers holiday romance.
For many, the Christmas season isn’t complete without watching one — or a few — of these feel-good films. This year, North Dakotans and country music lovers have an extra reason to get festive with these films as the country singing sister duo Tigirlily Gold made their Hallmark debut in one of the network’s newest holiday releases.
The Hazen, North Dakota natives Krista and Kendra Slaubaugh appeared in “A Grand Ole Opry Christmas,” which premiered Nov. 29 on The Hallmark Channel.
The film carries the familiar warmth of a Hallmark storyline, but instead of a hometown reunion and newfound love, this plot leans into time travel — where romance plays second fiddle to family.
The 1-hour, 24-minute movie follows Gentry Wade (Nikki DeLoach), the daughter of late country music icon Jett Wade (Rob Mayes). After a tragic accident 30 years prior, Gentry abandoned her songwriting dreams and distanced herself from her father’s legacy. When the Grand Ole Opry invites her to represent Jett at their Christmas centennial celebration, she’s hesitant to return to the place steeped in bittersweet memories.
Hallmark’s
description continues: “Encouraged by her good friends, Gentry visits the Opry and, while seated in one of the vaunted venue’s oak church pews, is suddenly transported to 1995. Gentry’s lifelong friend Mac (Kristoffer Polaha), a country music talent manager, finds himself in 1995 as well. Thanks to some Christmas magic, Gentry gets precious time with her father, creative inspiration to finish the song she began decades earlier as a teen and learns surprising answers to questions about her father that have followed her for the last three decades.”
Tigirlily Gold makes a cameo in a performance scene, singing their holiday single “Mistletoe Tipsy,” a country-styled Christmas tune that blends with the movie’s heartwarming, nostalgic tone.
Following the premiere of “A Grand Ole Opry Christmas,” the sisters were recognized as members of the 2025 Opry NextStage Class, alongside Dasha, Kashus Culpepper, Chayce Beckham, Avery Anna and Kaitlin Butts, as they took the stage Wednesday, Dec. 3, at Category 10 for the fifth annual “Opry NextStage Live.”
The sister duo’s cameo can be seen throughout the holiday season on the Hallmark Channel or streamed anytime on Hallmark+.
FARGO — A newcomer to North Dakota elections has launched a legislative campaign alongside two Fargo-area lawmakers.
Shawn Kessel, business development director for Fargo construction company Roers, will seek his first term representing District 27 in the North Dakota House, according to a news release. He joins the Republican ticket with Sen. Kristin Roers and Rep. Greg Stemen, both of Fargo.
“District 27 deserves a representative who can get to work on day one,” Kessel said in a statement. “I’ve spent my career solving complex problems for North Dakota communities, and I’ll bring that same commonsense leadership to the Legislature.”
Contributed / North Dakota Legislative Assembly
The Dickinson native will run for a seat held by
Rep. TJ Brown.
District 27 Republicans selected Brown in March to replace
Rep. Josh Christy,
a 43-year-old lawmaker who died unexpectedly on Feb. 18 in Bismarck during the 2025 legislative session.
It’s unclear why Brown decided not to seek election to the post. The Forum has reached out to him for comment.
Kessel started working for
Roers in February.
He was a deputy commissioner and chief operating officer for the North Dakota Commerce Department from 2018 until January of this year. Kessel wrote on his LinkedIn page that his time with the Commerce Department came to a “surprising” end as Gov. Kelly Armstrong took office.
Kessel also served as a city administrator for Wahpeton from 2000 to 2009, then filled a similar position for Dickinson until his transition to the state Commerce Department. He was a finalist for
West Fargo city administrator in 2023.
Tom Stromme / The Bismarck Tribune
Sen. Roers, who is also the majority caucus leader in the Senate, has represented District 27 since 2019. She is a nursing and clinical systems consultant for Sanford Health.
Stemen has held his seat since 2021.
District 27 covers parts of southwest Fargo and east Cass County south of Fargo down to County Road 46, extending from the Red River to west of Horace.
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