LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) – Arkansas lawmakers on Wednesday passed legislation banning almost all abortions and sending the bill to a Republican governor who has expressed reservations about the move.
The Republican House of the majority voted 75-18 in favor of the bill, which bans all abortions except those to save the mother’s life in a medical emergency. The bill, which passed the Senate last month, contains no exceptions to rape or incest.
Arkansas is one of at least 14 states where there have been outright abortion bans this year, an attempt by conservative Republicans to force the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its 1973 decision against Roe Vs.
“It is time for this ruling to be overturned in the Supreme Court,” the Republican Rep. Mary Bentley, a sponsor of the measure, told members of the House.
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 in 2019 that has been blocked due to court challenges.
Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who has approved several major abortion restrictions since taking office in 2015, said he would not sign the bill and told reporters he would decide next week.
“This is pro-life legislation and I support pro-life legislation,” Hutchinson said shortly before the vote. The governor has five days, without counting Sunday, after the bill was handed over to him to act before it becomes law without his signature.
The governor had earlier said he was concerned about the ban not including rape and exceptions to incest, and the direct challenge to Roe against Wade. A lawyer for National Right to Life said in a letter to Hutchinson that the chances that the legislation leading to the overthrow of Roe against Wade would be ‘very small and remote’.
National Right to Life did not take a stand on the bill, although its state subsidiary and other anti-abortion groups in Arkansas supported the measure.
Democrats call the measure extreme and say such an outright ban would lead to women taking dangerous steps to end their pregnancies.
“We do not need to inflict collateral damage on women in this state simply to advance a political cause,” Democratic Representative Ashley Hudson said.
Arkansas has some of the strictest abortion laws in the country and two years ago, Hutchinson signed a measure that would result in an abortion ban if Roe’s decision was overturned. Another law Hutchinson signed in 2019 to ban abortion in 18 weeks in a woman’s pregnancy is pending due to a court case.
Abortion rights groups have said they are prepared to contest the direct dispute if it is issued. Planned Parenthood calls the bill the “equivalent of a letter of claim” to the Supreme Court.
“This ban on abortions is clearly unconstitutional and we stand ready to challenge it and make every effort to block Arkansans’ care or dictate their personal medical decisions,” the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas said in a statement. . “We’ll see the state of Arkansas in court again.”