LITTLE ROCK — The 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Friday lifted an injunction against four Arkansas laws restricting abortion, putting them into effect Aug. 28th. The decision, made in light of a recent U.S. Supreme Court case, sends the case back to U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker in Little Rock. If allowed to take effect, access to abortion services would be effectively blocked for many women in Arkansas.
“The purpose of this legislation isn’t to keep women safe or to protect families, it’s to punish those seeking abortion and to block personal freedom. People should be allowed the right to make the decisions that are best for their lives, so that their families can thrive,” said the DPA’s Christina Mullinax. “When someone decides to end a pregnancy, it should be safe, affordable, and free from punishment or judgment. It’s about respect and safety, and the American Medical Association and the American College of Obstetrics and Gynocologists agree that unfortunately the restrictions Arkansas legislators passed are not only unnecessary but will actually make abortion less safe. If we really want to make abortion rare, we should increase access to contraception and support working parents.”
Since 2011, Republicans have proposed a whopping 55 abortion restrictions in the Arkansas Legislature.
The laws in question would:
- Ban the safest and most common procedure used in second-trimester abortions.
- Force a woman to notify the biological father and/org family members about the abortion, in relation to what happens to the fetal remains.
- Report to police a patient’s abortion, their address, and the preservation of some emrboynic or fetal tissue for patient’s under 14 years old.
- Mandate doctors to request a voluminous number of medical records pertaining to the patient’s entire pregnancy history, designed to cause delays and extra burdens without medical justification.