Arkansas is using COVID-19 as an excuse to restrict the rights of women. But Arkansas Democrats, led by state Rep. Tippi McCullough, are fighting back — and winning.
On April 8, in the midst of a global pandemic, Governor Asa Hutchinson issued a cease and desist order to Little Rock Family Planning (LRFP). The governor, pressured by extremists in his party, attempted to violate a woman’s constitutional right to access pre-viability abortion, long established as a right since Roe v. Wade.
State Rep. Tippi McCullough, along with state Reps. Denise Ennett, Jamie Scott, Denise Garner, Nicole Clowney, Vivian Flowers, and Joy Springer, called on the governor to rescind his executive order in a letter to his office.
Cease and Desist“Abortion care has been singled out to the detriment of Arkansas women who seek abortions and are now forced to continue pregnancies against their will in the context of a pandemic. By this order, doctors and medical providers have been denied use of their necessary case-by-case good faith medical judgment about the urgency of health care, while other health care providers are not similarly restricted, including for out of state patients. Many other less essential activities continue without any comparable ban in our state. We respectfully ask that you consider the women this affects and the increased risk to them during this time, not only from continuation of pregnancy but-from domestic and sexual abuse during the pandemic, and rescind the cease and desist.”
Federal Judge Kristine Baker has issued a temporary restraining order barring the state from enforcing an executive order preventing surgical abortions at Little Rock Family Planning Services for the duration of the coronavirus crisis. Read more >>>
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