The bill bans all abortions except those to save the mother’s life in a medical emergency and is on schedule to go in effect at the end of August.
What We Know:
- Republicans intend to put pressure on the Supreme Court to revisit the case Roe v. Wade, which is responsible for legalizing abortion nationwide. Governor Asa Hutchinson recently signed into legislation a law that bans nearly all abortions in the state of Arkansas. Arkansas is one of 14 states where near outright abortions have been banned. Hutchinson signed the bill because of its “overwhelming legislative support and my sincere and long-held pro-life convictions.”
- The law states that anyone charged with performing an illegal non-approved abortion will be convicted of a felony up to 10 years in prison. Critics of the new law include advocates of the pro-choice movement and Democrats. Democrats believe that if that ban fully occurs, it could lead to women taking dangerous steps to end their pregnancies.
- According to the Guttmacher Institute, the average one-way driving distance to an abortion clinic for Arkansas women is 128 miles. Elizabeth Nash, the Associate Director of state issues in the Guttmacher Institute, remarks, “Now is the time for Congress to protect against these attacks by creating a federal statutory right to access abortion without medically unnecessary restrictions through the Women’s Health Protection Act.”
- Several reproductive rights advocacy groups condemn the bill and note that the state has spent the last few years cutting access to safe abortions. The new Arkansas policy does not include exceptions for rape or incest. An estimated 3,200 to 50,000 cases of rape-related pregnancies occur every year.
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate 1.3 million American women were victims of rape or attempted rape every year. Several reproductive rights advocacy groups condemn the bill and note that the state has spent the last few years cutting access to safe abortions.
It isn’t yet clear whether or not the Supreme Court will reverse the ruling in Roe vs. Wade, but critics mention the outcome to be highly unlikely.
