LITTLE ROCK, Arkansas (AP) – Arkansas lawmakers passed legislation on Wednesday that bans nearly all abortions, sending the bill to a Republican governor who has expressed reservations about the move.
The Republican majority Chamber voted 75-18 in favor of the bill, which prohibits all abortions except those to save the mother’s life in a medical emergency. The bill, which passed the Senate last month, it does not include exceptions for rape or incest.
Arkansas is one of at least 14 states where a total ban on abortion was proposed this year, an effort by conservative Republicans to force the U.S. Supreme Court to review its Roe vs. Ruling. 1973 Wade who legalized the procedure across the country.
“It is time for that decision to be overturned in the Supreme Court,” Republican MP Mary Bentley, a sponsor of the measure, told House members.
Another radical ban on abortion was enacted by the governor of South Carolina last month, but was quickly blocked by a federal judge due to a planned paternity challenge. Alabama enacted an almost total ban on abortion in 2019, which was blocked because of legal challenges.
Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson, who has approved several restrictions on abortion since taking office in 2015, did not say whether he would sign the bill and told reporters he would make a decision next week.
“It is pro-life legislation and I support pro-life legislation,” said Hutchinson shortly before the House vote. The governor has five days, not counting Sunday, after the bill is handed over to act before it becomes law without his signature.
The governor said earlier that he is concerned about the ban on not including exceptions for rape and incest, and the direct challenge from Roe vs. Wade. A National Right to Life lawyer told Hutchinson in a letter that the chances of the legislation leading to the turnaround of Roe vs. Wade were “very small and remote”.
National Right to Life did not take a position on the project, although its state affiliate and other anti-abortion groups in Arkansas supported the move.
Democrats called the measure extreme and said that such a total ban, if enacted, would lead women to take dangerous measures to terminate the pregnancy.
“We don’t need to make women in this state a victim of collateral damage simply to promote a political cause,” said Democratic MP Ashley Hudson.
Arkansas has some of the nation’s most stringent abortion laws, and two years ago, Hutchinson signed a measure that would trigger a ban on abortion if the Roe decision was overturned. Another law that Hutchinson signed in 2019 banning abortion in a woman’s 18th week of pregnancy is on hold because of a court challenge.
Abortion rights groups have said they are prepared to challenge openly if it is enacted. Planned Parenthood called the project “equivalent to a letter of demand” to the Supreme Court.
“This ban on abortion is clearly unconstitutional and we are ready to challenge it and any effort to prevent Arkansas residents from care or to dictate their personal medical decisions,” the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas said in a statement. “We will see the state of Arkansas in court again.”