Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson signed an Arkansas abortion ban into law that outlaws all abortions except in medical emergencies. The ban makes no exceptions for cases of rape or incest.
“Governor Hutchinson: we’ll see you in court,” the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas wrote on Twitter.
The law will become effective in August.
“Our patients deserve better. Planned Parenthood will work alongside its partners to fight this attack on our rights and freedoms,” Alexis McGill Johnson, Planned Parenthood Action Fund president, said in a statement.
Hutchinson believes that the bill challenges the Roe v. Wade decision.
“(The ban) is in contradiction of binding precedents of the U.S. Supreme Court, but it is the intent of the legislation to set the stage for the Supreme Court overturning current case law,” Hutchinson said in a statement released by his office. “I would have preferred the legislation to include exceptions for rape and incest, which has been my consistent view, and such exceptions would increase the chances for a review by the U.S. Supreme Court.”
