LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — The Arkansas Supreme Court is being asked to overturn a circuit judge's ruling that blocks the state Board of Health from enforcing billing restrictions on three abortion-providing clinics.
The motion first reported by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette was filed shortly before 11 p.m. Thursday by the state attorney general's office.
The request says Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox lacks jurisdiction with his "unprecedented and wantonly unlawful" order earlier Thursday. The order bans the state Board of Health from enforcing a 2015 state law prohibiting clinics from charging a patient seeking an abortion for related services during the 48-hour wait period before the procedure.
The state's motion also asks the court to stop a scheduled April 8 hearing on the issue and to issue its order by 8 a.m. Monday because of "the urgency of this matter."