Evizda

The most restrictive anti-choice law in the country has been banned after a federal judge temporarily blocked it on Monday, calling the North Dakota bill “clearly invalid and unconstitutional.” 

The law, which was set to go into effect August 1, would forbid termination once a fetal heartbeat could be detected, which can happen as early as six weeks. Many women do not discover they are pregnant until they are beyond the six-week point.

The judge’s injunction is the result of a lawsuit filed by the state’s only abortion clinic.

According to Reuters, Red River Women’s Clinic argued in its legal challenge to the bill that this restriction would effectively ban nearly 90 percent of the procedures they perform, violating the constitutional reproductive rights of women in the state.