North Dakota’s governor signed a law Monday banning nearly all abortions in the sparsely populated northern US state.

According to a statement from Republican Gov. Doug Bergum, “this law clarifies and improves existing state law,” following the June 2022 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that struck down constitutional protections for abortion.

In practice, all abortions are now illegal in North Dakota “from conception,” with few exceptions, especially if the pregnancy poses a serious health risk to the expectant mother.

An exception is also provided – up to the sixth week of pregnancy – if the pregnancy is a consequence of rape or incest.

Offenders, whether it is the expectant mother or the doctor performing the operation, or even persons who sold drugs or the materials required, face five-year prison terms.

North Dakota, with a majority conservative population, has about 800,000 residents.

As of June 2022 and the Supreme Court’s ruling, some fifteen US states have banned abortion on their territory.

On April 13, Florida’s legislature banned her beyond the sixth week of pregnancy, passing a law the White House called “extreme and dangerous.”

On Friday, the Supreme Court decided to preserve, for now, access to the so-called morning-after pill, which is used in about half of abortions in the country, suspending restrictions imposed by lower courts and giving abortion rights advocates a temporary reprieve. .

In particular, the Supreme Court’s ruling means that American women can continue, until further notice, to get mifepristone pills — the active ingredient in the morning-after pill — by mail in states where abortion remains legal.