The ban was pushed by Republicans who want to force the US Supreme Court to revisit its 1973 Roe against Wade decided to legalize abortions nationwide. Conservatives believe the court is more open to making the decision after former President Donald Trump’s three appointments to court.
“We must abolish abortion in this country, just as we abolished slavery in the 19th century – all lives are important,” Republican Senator Jason Rapert, a sponsor of the bill, said in a statement.
Hutchinson has signed several major abortion restrictions since taking office in 2015, but he has expressed concern that this bill directly challenges Roe and over the lack of rape and exceptions to incest. He reiterated the concern when announcing his decision.
“(The ban) is contrary to the binding precedents of the U.S. Supreme Court, but it is the intent of the legislation to establish the scene for the Supreme Court to overturn the current case law,” he said in a statement. office announced. “I would prefer the legislation to include the exceptions for rape and incest, which was my firm opinion, and such exceptions would increase the chances of review by the U.S. Supreme Court.”
While the Legislature was considering the measure, Hutchinson shared a letter written by a lawyer for abortion opponents National Right to Life, saying the chances of the bill leading to Roe being overthrown were ‘very small and remote’. is. National Right to Life has not taken a stand on the bill, although its Arkansas subsidiary supports the ban.
The legislation only comes into force 90 days after the majority Republican Legislature adjourned this year’s session. This means that it can only be applied to this summer. Supporters of abortion rights have said they plan to face the ban in court before then.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas called the ban “cruel and unconstitutional.”
“Governor Hutchinson: we’ll see you in court,” said Holly Dickson, executive director of Arkansas.
“This is the worst politics,” Alexis McGill Johnson, president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, said in a statement. “At a time when people need economic relief and basic security measures, disrupting abortion access is cruel, dangerous and blatantly unfair.”
Hutchinson had until Wednesday afternoon to act on the bill before it would become law without his signature, a move that made the governors to express dissatisfaction with a bill without risking a dominant battle with the legislature . The law requires a simple majority to override the Arkansas governor’s veto.
Arkansas has some of the strictest abortion measures in the country and two years ago, Hutchinson signed a measure that would ban the procedure if Roe’s decision was overturned. Another measure Hutchinson signed in 2019 to ban abortions after 18 weeks of pregnancy is pending due to a legal challenge.
Several other restrictions are still being considered in the legislature, including one approved by the Senate a day earlier, which requires a woman who has an abortion to first show an ultrasound.
Another comprehensive abortion ban was signed by the governor of South Carolina last month, but was quickly blocked by a federal judge due to a legal challenge by Planned Parenthood. Alabama introduced a near-total ban on abortions blocked in 2019 due to court challenges.