Spousal Consent

The U.S. Supreme Court held that requiring a woman to obtain her husband's consent prior to an abortion is unconstitutional. Planned Parenthood of Cent. Mo. v. Danforth, 428 U.S. 52, 67-72 (1976). Yet, North Dakota has not repealed its unconstitutional and therefore unenforceable law that provides that a married woman may not obtain an abortion after the fetus may reasonably be expected to have reached viability without her husband's written consent unless: (1) the abortion is necessary to preserve the woman's life; (2) continuation of the pregnancy would impose a "substantial risk of grave impairment" to her physical or mental health; or (3) her husband is voluntarily separated from her. N.D. Cent. Code § 14-02.1-03 (Enacted 1975; Last Amended 1991).