A judge for the US District Court for the District of North Dakota issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday against North Dakota House Bill No. 1336 (HB 1336), which requires that a physician inform a woman seeking an abortion that the woman could reverse the abortion in instances where the procedure is performed via pharmaceuticals.

This is purportedly achieved by having the woman take progesterone to reverse the course of the abortion drug. Plaintiffs argued the science behind this technique is unproven and not supported by major medical organizations.

In analyzing whether a preliminary injunction was appropriate, the court reviewed three factors: (1) the threat of irreparable harm to the movant; (2) the state of balance between this harm and the injury that granting the injunction will inflict on other parties litigant; (3) the probability that movant will succeed on the merits; and (4) the public interest (collectively, the Dataphase factors, in reference to an Eighth Circuit case: Dataphase Systems, Inc. v. C L Systems, Inc.).

After a careful review of the entire record and consideration of the Dataphase factors, the Court finds all of the Dataphase factors weigh in favor of the issuance of a preliminary injunction. The plaintiffs have met their burden of establishing the necessity of a preliminary injunction. Accordingly, the Plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction is granted.

Therefore, North Dakota officials cannot enforce HB 1336.