State Lawmakers Stand Up for the Unborn, Send Near-Total Abortion Ban to GOP Governor's Desk
Arkansas lawmakers on Wednesday approved legislation banning nearly all abortions, sending the bill to Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
The majority-Republican House voted 75-18 for the bill, which bans all abortions except those to save the life of the mother in a medical emergency.
The bill, which passed the Senate last month, does not include exceptions for cases of rape or incest.
Arkansas is one of at least 14 states where similar abortion bans have been proposed this year, an effort by Republicans to force the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit its 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide.
“It’s time for this decision to be overturned in the Supreme Court,” Republican Rep. Mary Bentley, a sponsor of the measure, told House members.
Another sweeping pro-life measure was signed into law by South Carolina’s governor last month but was quickly blocked by a federal judge due to a legal challenge by Planned Parenthood.
Alabama enacted a near-total ban on abortions in 2019 that has been blocked because of court challenges.
Hutchinson, who has approved several major pro-life laws since taking office in 2015, stopped short of saying whether he’ll sign this bill and told reporters he’d make a decision next week.
“It’s pro-life legislation and I support pro-life legislation,” Hutchinson said shortly before the House vote.
The governor has five days, not counting Sunday, after the bill is delivered to him to take action before it becomes law without his signature.
The governor previously said he’s concerned about the ban not including rape and incest exceptions and the challenge to Roe vs. Wade.
An attorney for National Right to Life told Hutchinson in a letter that the chances of the legislation leading to overturning Roe vs. Wade were “very small and remote.”
National Right to Life has not taken a position on the bill, though its state affiliate and other pro-life groups in Arkansas have backed the measure.
Arkansas has some of the most pro-life laws in the country, and two years ago Hutchinson signed a measure that would trigger an abortion ban if the Roe decision was overturned.
Another law Hutchinson signed in 2019 banning abortion 18 weeks into a woman’s pregnancy is on hold because of a court challenge.
Pro-abortion groups have said they’re prepared to challenge the ban if it’s enacted. Planned Parenthood called the bill the “equivalent of a demand letter” to the Supreme Court.
“This abortion ban is plainly unconstitutional and we stand ready to challenge it and any effort to block Arkansans from care or dictate their personal medical decisions,” the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas said in a statement. “We will be seeing the state of Arkansas in court again.”
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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