Federal judge blocks Arkansas abortion restrictions

ACLU, Planned Parenthood say new law too restrictive, unconstitutional

news@theeveningtimes.com

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A federal judge in Arkansas has blocked abortion restrictions that were set to take effect on Wednesday, dealing a victory to opponents of the laws who argued they violated Supreme Court precedent, were not medically necessary and imposed an “enormous burden” on a woman’s ability to access abortion.

District Court Judge Kristine Baker of the Eastern District of Arkansas issued a temporary injunction late Tuesday night concluding that the laws “cause ongoing and imminent irreparable harm” to patients. The judge held that the state “has no interest in enforcing laws that are unconstitutional” and that she would block the state from enforcing the laws while the legal challenges play out.

Three different provisions were at issue. One effectively barred abortions starting at 18 weeks of pregnancy. Baker held that because the provision “prohibits nearly all abortions before viability,” it is unconstitutional under court precedent.

Another barred providers from performing an abortion if the woman’s decision to terminate was based on a diagnosis that the fetus has Down syndrome. The judge ruled the law “is over-inclusive and under-inclusive because it prohibits nearly all pre-viability abortion based on Down syndrome when there is no record evidence that the Arkansas legislature has availed itself of alternative, less burdensome means… that do not unconstitutionally prohibit a woman’s right to choose.”

A third required providers to be certified in obstetrics and gynecology, a provision Baker said “provides no discernible medical benefit in the light of the realities of abortion care, training, and practice in Arkansas and across the county.” She noted that had the provision gone forward, it would have left the state with no surgical abortion provider.

“In recent years, Arkansas has engaged in a targeted campaign against abortion care and the women who need it,” lawyers for the American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood argued in court papers on behalf of the Little Rock Family Planning Services clinic.

Holly Dickson, legal director and interim executive director of the ACLU of Arkansas, said her group was “relieved.”

“Personal medical decisions are just that — personal — and politicians have no business barging into people’s private decisions, shutting down clinics and blocking people from care that they need,” she said.