SCOTUS Draft Opinion Could End Abortion Access In Arkansas

LITTLE ROCK – According to reports of a leaked draft opinion, a partisan majority of the U.S. Supreme Court is prepared to overturn Roe v. Wade, potentially ending reproductive healthcare rights for women in America. This decision would automatically trigger a 2019 Arkansas law, that effectively bans abortion and emergency contraceptive access in the state, including for victims of sexual crimes.

“The leaked United States Supreme Court opinion, if true, constitutes a shocking descent into precedent-defying judicial activism. If this draft becomes official in June, a newly passed Arkansas law will immediately outlaw access to abortions for Arkansas women and children who are victims of rape or incest,” said state Rep. Ashley Hudson.

“The opinion will also open the door to more extreme measures, from putting bounties on the heads of those who dare assist a woman who seeks abortion, to efforts to bully and fine private corporations who speak against the depravity of forcing children and rape victims to carry pregnancies to term. Worse still, the written opinion puts other 14th Amendment rights in jeopardy, like the right to procure birth control without seeking consent, and the right to marriage equality.”

Arkansas Democrats trust women to make their own healthcare decisions and are committed to the fight to preserve the protections afforded in Roe v. Wade.

Republicans in the Arkansas Legislature passed a law in 2019 that would impose an automatic government ban on abortions, even for rape and incest, in the event the U.S. Supreme Court ruled to overturn Roe v. Wade. The so-called abortion ban “trigger law” also seeks to: criminalize doctors and medical professionals, by threatening up to ten years in prison for assisting in abortion services and would ban access to emergency contraception pills. Arkansas is one of 13 states with an abortion ban trigger law in place.