FARGO, N.D. (AP) — North Dakota appears ready to follow Mississippi's lead in requiring that doctors who perform abortions have hospital-admitting privileges. It could mean a long legal battle.
The Red River Valley Women's Clinic is North Dakota's sole abortion clinic, performing about 1,200 abortions a year. It serves women primarily from North Dakota, Minnesota and South Dakota.
A bill in the state legislature would require doctors at the abortion clinic to acquire hospital credentials. Fargo clinic officials say it could be impossible for the doctors to meet those criteria, particularly when it comes to the minimum number of hospitals visits per year.
Mississippi passed a law last year that requires anyone doing abortions to be an OB-GYN with privileges to admit patients to the hospital.
