Arkansas governor signs near-total abortion ban into law

Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson. Photo / AP

Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson on Tuesday (US time) signed into law legislation banning nearly all abortions in the state. It's a sweeping measure that supporters hope will force the US Supreme Court to revisit its landmark Roe v. Wade decision but opponents vow to block before it takes effect this year.

The Republican governor had expressed reservations about the bill, which only allows the procedure to save the life of the mother and does not provide exceptions for those impregnated by rape or incest. Arkansas is one of at least 14 states where legislators have proposed outright abortion bans this year.

Hutchinson said he was signing the bill because of its "overwhelming legislative support and my sincere and long-held pro-life convictions".

The bans were pushed by Republicans who want to force the US Supreme Court to revisit its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision legalising abortion nationwide. Conservatives believe the court is more open to striking down the decision after former President Donald Trump's three appointments to the court.

Hutchinson has signed several major abortion restrictions into law since taking office in 2015, but he had voiced concerns that this bill directly challenges Roe and about the lack of rape and incest exceptions. He repeated those concerns as he announced his decision.

"[The ban] is in contradiction of binding precedents of the US Supreme Court, but it is the intent of the legislation to set the stage for the Supreme Court overturning current case law," he said. "I would have preferred the legislation to include the exceptions for rape and incest, which has been my consistent view, and such exceptions would increase the chances for a review by the US Supreme Court."

As the Legislature considered the measure, Hutchinson shared with lawmakers a letter written by the attorney for abortion opponents National Right to Life that said the chances of the bill leading to Roe being overturned were "very small and remote". National Right to Life didn't take a position on the bill, though its Arkansas affiliate supported the ban.

The legislation won't take effect until 90 days after the majority-Republican Legislature adjourns this year's session. That means it can't be enforced until the northern summer at the earliest. Abortion rights supporters said they plan to challenge the ban in court before then.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas called the ban "cruel and unconstitutional".

"Governor Hutchinson: we'll see you in court," ACLU of Arkansas executive director Holly Dickson said.

"This is politics at its very worst," said Alexis McGill Johnson, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund. "At a time when people need economic relief and basic safety precautions, dismantling abortion access is cruel, dangerous, and blatantly unjust."

Arkansas has some of the strictest abortion measures in the country and two years ago Hutchinson signed into law a measure that would ban the procedure if the Roe decision was overturned. Another measure Hutchinson signed in 2019 banning abortions after 18 weeks of pregnancy is on hold because of a legal challenge.

Several other restrictions are still being considered in the Legislature, including one approved by the Senate a day earlier that would require a woman having an abortion to first be shown an ultrasound.

Another sweeping abortion ban was signed into law by South Carolina's governor last month but was quickly blocked by a federal judge because of a legal challenge by Planned Parenthood. Alabama enacted a near-total ban on abortions in 2019, which has been blocked because of court challenges.

- AP