Arkansas governor signs near-total abortion ban in effort to overturn Roe v. Wade
Little Rock, Arkansas – Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson signed into law on Tuesday a controversial ban on nearly all abortions in the state.
According to Politico, the move is an attempt to force the Supreme Court to reexamine the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which prevented states from enacting unduly restrictive abortion regulations.
Arkansas' Senate Bill 6 goes beyond the parameters determined in Roe v. Wade, only allowing for an abortion if the mother's life is at stake.
No exceptions are made in cases of rape or incest.
The bill argues that the withholding of legal protections from fetuses is akin to the historic oppression of African Americans, saying, "A crime against humanity occurs when a government withdraws legal protection from a class of human beings, resulting in severe deprivation of their rights, up to and including death."
According to the lawmakers who drafted the bill, infant safe haven laws and a "culture of adoption" in the US have removed the strain upon women who do not want to care for a child, implying that there are already sufficient social and economic protections for pregnant women and mothers.
The ban now seeks to establish abortion or attempted abortion as an unclassified felony. Anyone convicted could receive a fine up to $100,000 or a prison sentence.
The ban is a calculated political move by Republican lawmakers
The Republican governor said he was concerned about the lack of exceptions for victims of rape and incest, but affirmed that the decision was made in order to force a Supreme Court reexamination of Roe v. Wade: "[The ban] is in contradiction of binding precedents of the U.S. Supreme Court, but it is the intent of the legislation to set the stage for the Supreme Court overturning current case law."
He continued, "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 U.S. Supreme Court."
The ban cannot take effect until the summer, and a number of organizations have already expressing their commitment to fighting it.
The president of the Planned Parenthood Action Fund, Alexis McGill Johnson, denounced the measure: "This is politics at its very worst. At a time when people need economic relief and basic safety precautions, dismantling abortion access is cruel, dangerous, and blatantly unjust."
American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas called the ban "cruel and unconstitutional," and its Executive Director Holly Dickson issued a statement, saying, "Abortion is legal in all 50 states, including Arkansas, and we'll fight as long as it takes to keep it that way."
Dickson concluded with a challenge: "Governor Hutchinson: We'll see you in court."
Cover photo: IMAGO / Xinhua