Groups File Lawsuits Over New Arkansas Abortion Restrictions
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Abortion-rights groups asked a federal court Tuesday to block Arkansas from enforcing new restrictions lawmakers approved this year, including a ban on a commonly used second-trimester procedure that the groups say would make it nearly impossible for many women in the state to have an abortion.
The American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights filed a lawsuit challenging the measure banning the procedure known as dilation and evacuation. Abortion-rights supporters contend it's the safest and most common procedure used in second-trimester abortions.
"Instead of protecting women's health, Arkansas politicians have passed laws that defy decency and reason just to make it difficult or impossible for a woman to get an abortion," Rita Sklar, executive director of the ACLU of Arkansas, said in a statement. "They've created burdensome bureaucratic hurdles that invade patient privacy."
The new law is set to take effect in August. Similar bans are in effect in Mississippi and West Virginia, while other bans in Alabama, Kansas, Louisiana and Oklahoma have been blocked by court rulings. A ban approved in Texas will take effect in September.
Read more: https://www.memphisdailynews.com/news/2017/jun/22/groups-file-lawsuits-over-new-arkansas-abortion-restrictions/