North Dakota now protects almost all unborn babies

North Dakota’s Republican Gov. Doug Burgum signed a bill into law yesterday that would protect nearly all unborn babies after six weeks of pregnancy. Exceptions are allowed before the six-week mark for instances of rape and incest. Exceptions for medical emergencies, such as an ectopic pregnancy, are allowed at any stage of pregnancy. The law took effect immediately.

Will the law stay in effect? The state’s Supreme Court temporarily suspended a previous law protecting unborn babies from abortion while challenges to the law’s constitutionality work their way through the legal system. Many expect this new law to also face legal challenges.

Dig deeper: Read Leah Savas’s report in Vitals on the legal tug-of-war over the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of the abortion drug mifepristone.