Arkansas Times: Federal judge blocks Arkansas’s new abortion ban
July 20, 2021
The Arkansas Times reported that Arkansas federal judge Kristine Baker blocked the new state law banning abortion.
The ban was due to go into effect on July 28, prohibiting abortion in nearly every case and imposing harsh criminal penalties on doctors for providing care. It was signed into law in March, the latest of 20 restrictions on abortion passed by Arkansas in 2021 – the highest number any state has passed in a single year since 1978.
The national ACLU, the ACLU of Arkansas, Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and O’Melveny filed a challenge to the ban in May.
“We’re relieved that the court has blocked another cruel and harmful attempt to criminalize abortion care and intrude on Arkansans’ deeply personal medical decisions,” executive director of the ACLU of Arkansas Holly Dickson said.
Arkansas Times subscribers can read the full article here.