Arkansas’s 12-week abortion ban is headed to court.
A little more than a month after the state’s Legislature made history by passing the earliest abortion ban in the nation, the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights filed suit in federal court Tuesday against the ban — arguing it flies in the face of Roe v. Wade.
“In violation of over 40 years of settled United States Supreme Court precedent, the act bans abortion care starting at 12 weeks of pregnancy, threatening the rights, liberty and well-being of Arkansas women and their families,” the complaint states.
The law, known as the Human Heartbeat Protection Act, bans most abortions after 12 weeks if a heartbeat is detected.
Abortion rights supporters say the law, along with a recently passed North Dakota law that bans abortions after about six weeks, contradicts Supreme Court precedent specifying states can’t restrict abortions prior to viability, which is generally considered to be around 23-24 weeks.
The Arkansas attorney general’s office said it’s ready for the challenge.
“It is our responsibility to defend state law, and we will do so in this litigation,” Aaron Sadler, spokesman for Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel, said.
Abortion rights groups expressed confidence they will get a quick court win.
“We fully expect the court to immediately strike down” the ban, Stephanie Toti, senior staff attorney at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement.
But Steve Crampton, general counsel for Liberty Counsel, a nonprofit organization that opposes abortion, says his group plans to help defend the law in court.
“We believe that the state of Arkansas has done nothing more than to take steps to protect its most innocent and helpless residents, the preborn children in the womb,” he said.
The lawsuit — filed on behalf of two Arkansas doctors who provide abortions in the state — is aiming to prevent the Arkansas ban from ever going into effect. The law is set to be implemented on July 18, which is 90 days after the Legislature is scheduled to adjourn.
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