LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — In a statement from Planned Parenthood, all abortions will be paused in Arkansas following the decision by the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade, which protected the right to abortion nationwide.
The decision has ended nearly 50 years of constitutional protections for abortion and roughly half the states are expected to ban the procedure, including Arkansas.
The Arkansas legislature passed a "trigger law" in 2019, which was put in place to ban all abortions immediately in the state if Roe v. Wade was overturned.
The trigger law will effectively ban abortions except to save the life of the pregnant person. There is no exception for rape or incest.
If an abortion is performed in the state by someone, it will be considered a felony with a $100,000 fine or at least 10 years in prison. The law will not charge or convict a woman with any criminal offense if the abortion is performed.
In response, Planned Parenthood announced that it has paused all abortion services in Arkansas.
“Two hundred and fifty years ago, our country’s founders said, ‘All men are created equal.’ Today, the Supreme Court took the ‘men’ part literally, stripping rights from every woman in America,” said Emily Wales, president and CEO, Planned Parenthood Great Plains. “State by state, we have seen access to abortion virtually eliminated.
Governor Asa Hutchinson said, "For decades I have said Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided."
In order for the trigger law to go into effect, Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge will have to certify the ruling.
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