Arkansas’s 12-Week Abortion Ban Challenged by ACLU

[Bryn]

Two Arkansas doctors sued the state over a new law restricting the availability of abortions in the state after the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

“This law is one of the most dangerous assaults on women’s health that we’ve seen in decades,” Rita Sklar, director of the ACLU’s Arkansas chapter, said in a statement today announcing the filing in Little Rock federal court. “We may not all agree about abortion, but we can all agree that this complex and personal decision should be made by a woman, her family and her doctor, not politicians.”

The plaintiffs are seeking a preliminary injunction barring the law from taking effect while their suit proceeds. Arkansas is the latest of at least six U.S. states to be challenged in court for tightening abortion restrictions in recent years. It’s one of a handful of states to ban abortions after the 20th week of pregnancy, around the time women commonly get ultrasounds to screen for fetal anomalies.

The Arkansas law “has no chance of surviving a careful constitutional challenge,” law professor Stephen Sheppard said. “You have to protect the rights of women, and this does not,” said Sheppard, who teaches constitutional law and is associate dean of the University of Arkansas School of Law in Fayetteville.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-04-16/doctors-sue-arkansas-over-12-week-abortion-ban-aclu-says.html