Three-judge panel puts abortion pill restrictions on hold
LITTLE ROCK—A federal appeals court on Friday prevented Arkansas from enforcing restrictions on how the abortion pill is administered while Planned Parenthood asks the nation's highest court to review a ruling in favor of the law.
A three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a request by Planned Parenthood Great Plains to not allow an earlier ruling in favor of the restrictions to take effect yet. The restrictions are part of a 2015 law that requires doctors who provide the abortion pill to maintain a contract with another physician who has admitting privileges at a hospital and agrees to handle any complications.
The organization said it planned to petition the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case. The court did not elaborate on its reason for the stay in its one-page order.
"Act 577 would impose medically unnecessary and senseless restrictions on access to abortion, creating undue burdens for women in the state," Aaron Samulcek, interim president and chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, said in a statement. "As we march forward to seek review in the U.S. Supreme Court, we stand by the countless Arkansans who will continue accessing expert, compassionate health care at our health centers in Fayetteville and Little Rock."
Read more: http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/arkansas/story/2017/oct/14/three-judge-panel-puts-abortion-pill-restrictions-hold/695596/