USNorth Dakota becomes third state to ban abortion procedure known as dilation and evacuation

North Dakota's Republican governor on Wednesday signed a bill outlawing a second-trimester abortion procedure, joining two others states banning a practice known as dilation and evacuation.

As similar laws in eight additional states face legal challenges, North Dakota's legislation makes it a crime for doctors to use instruments such as clamps, scissors and forceps to remove the fetus from the womb during the second trimester.

Abortion, gun control: How special interest groups push legislation

An investigation by USA TODAY, The Arizona Republic and the Center for Public Integrity reveals for the first time the extent to which special interests have infiltrated state legislatures using model legislation. USA TODAY and the Republic found at least 10,000 bills almost entirely copied from model legislation were introduced nationwide in the past eight years, and more than 2,100 of those bills were signed into law. The investigation examined nearly 1 million bills in all 50 states and Congress using a computer algorithm developed to detect similarities in language.

North Dakota ’s sole abortion clinic, located in Fargo, is filing a lawsuit against two state laws that it claims force doctors to present false information North Dakota ’s governor signed into law in April a bill that outlaws the common abortion procedure known as “ dilation and evacuation ,” also known

April 10: North Dakota becomes third state to ban abortion procedure known as dilation and evacuation . The bill drew strong opposition from Democrats, who raised several objections, including the lack of exceptions for victims of sexual assault. House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels offered an

© Provided by USA TODAY, a division of Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc.

Last month, the GOP-led state legislature easily passed the bill, which includes the non-medical term “human dismemberment abortion."

Women getting the procedure would not be charged, but doctors performing it would face a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine. An exception exists for medical emergencies.

Six weeks: 'It's horrifying': Challenges women could face if Georgia's 'fetal heartbeat' bill goes into effect, doctors and advocates say

'Criminal liability': Texas debating bill allowing death penalty against women who have abortions

Eying Supreme Court, abortion foes promote tough state bans

The anti-abortion spotlight is on Georgia for the moment, where Republican Gov. Brian Kemp is expected to sign a bill that would ban most abortions if a heartbeat can be detected. 

North Dakota 's governor on Wednesday signed a bill outlawing a second-trimester abortion procedure , joining two others states banning the POLITICIANS MAKE TERRIBLE DOCTORS Medical professionals and patients should be deciding what the best procedure is for

Second Trimester: Dilation and Evacuation . Late-Term Abortion : Dilation and Extraction. What Happens Next? If you’re having an abortion further along in your pregnancy, you may have to find a specialized, experienced provider to do a dilation and extraction procedure , or D&X. This is a

The procedure has not been reported in North Dakota since 2015, when eight were performed, according to State Health Department data.

Abortion-rights groups say the law unconstitutionally interferes with private medical decisions.

Laws in Mississippi and West Virginia also ban the procedure, while legal challenges have put similar laws on hold in Alabama, Arkansas, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Ohio, Oklahoma and Texas.

The director of North Dakota's sole abortion provider, Tammi Kromenaker of the Red River Women’s Clinic in Fargo, said her facility's lawyers will wait for a decision in the Arkansas case before possibly suing. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes North Dakota, heard arguments about a judge blocking Arkansas from enforcing its law in December.

Wednesday's signing marked Gov. Doug Burgum's second abortion measure.

Burgum previously said he would have supported abortion laws North Dakota passed in 2013, including one that would have banned abortions when a fetal heartbeat can be detected.

After the state's only abortion clinic sued, the law never went into effect. North Dakota spent $326,000 to unsuccessfully defend the law and paid the clinic $245,000 in a settlement.

Contributing: The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: North Dakota becomes third state to ban abortion procedure known as dilation and evacuation