Planned Parenthood of the Heartland asked a federal judge Monday to block a law that imposes limits on medication abortions.
If the Arkansas law, which takes effect Friday, is allowed to stand as it is, medication abortions will no longer be available in the state and will force women to seek surgical options instead, a Planned Parenthood representative said.
"Planned Parenthood is committed to protecting access to safe, legal abortion for every woman to consider if and when she needs it," said Suzanna de Baca, chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood of the Heartland. "We will continue to fight for the right of every woman to make her own medical decisions. No matter what."
J.R. Davis, spokesman for Gov. Asa Hutchinson, said the governor has not had time to review the lawsuit and could not comment.
Judd Deere, spokesman for Attorney General Leslie Rutledge's office, also declined to comment.
The lawsuit takes issue with the requirements of Arkansas Act 577, which says abortion-pill providers have to follow U.S. Food and Drug Administration guidelines -- specifically that a doctor providing the pill has to maintain a contract with another doctor who has admitting privileges at a hospital.
Planned Parenthood said in court documents that it has been trying unsuccessfully since the state Legislature passed the law to locate a physician with admitting privileges to satisfy the law and continue administering chemical abortions.
"We exhausted all our connections" and only had one or two doctors who considered contracting with the organization, according to court documents.
"The others either refused to call us back or told us they could not contract with [Planned Parenthood] because of fear of stigma and harassment from being associated with an abortion provider; employers or partners did not want to be associated with an abortion provider; or because they do not support a woman's right to choose," the lawsuit read.
Planned Parenthood of the Heartland also challenges the law's stipulation that the use of the drug and the administration protocol cannot stray from the manufacturer's original guidelines.
The organization -- one of two abortion providers in Arkansas -- operates two clinics in the state, one in Fayetteville and the other in Little Rock. The Planned Parenthood clinics in Arkansas provide medication abortions only, not surgical ones.
The suit claims that the other abortion provider in the state, Little Rock Family Planning Services, said it would no longer offer the pill and would operate solely as a surgical-abortion provider if the law goes into effect. A message left at that clinic was not returned as of late Monday.
If Planned Parenthood is forced to end medication abortions, it will refer its clients to Little Rock for surgical abortions, said Susan Allen, spokesman for the Planned Parenthood of the Heartland.
"It severely curtails access to a safe and legal abortion," Allen said. "For some women, they may not have access at all."
Women in Fayetteville will have to drive three hours each way to Little Rock and "women statewide will lose access to a safe, early method of abortion using medications alone," the lawsuit says.
The law's sponsor, state Rep. Charlene Fite, R-Van Buren, said she prefers a surgical abortion over a chemical one because surgical procedures are done in a clinical setting and have fewer complications.
According to Planned Parenthood protocol, the woman seeking an abortion first goes to the clinic and, as required by law, is given information outlining alternatives to abortion. The state-mandated initial ultrasound is also performed at this time.
At least 48 hours later, the woman returns to the clinic and is given one 200-milligram mifepristone pill in the presence of a physician. She is then given four misoprostol pills totalling 800 milligrams to take at home. She is seen in the clinic two weeks later to ensure the abortion is complete.
Fite said she feels that it is "quite dangerous to take a drug that powerful, then go home and be alone when this happens."
"We saw this very much as a women's health issue," she said, speaking of the law's creation. "I have a file of stories from women of horrendous side effects like extreme bleeding, cramping, extreme pain. This does not sound like a pleasant experience."
Jerry Cox, president of the Arkansas Family Council, said he agrees with Fite that the regimen endangers women.
"I don't make a secret of the fact that I would like to see all unnecessary abortions ended in Arkansas," he said. "In the meantime, don't treat women like cattle. Don't run them through a process and send them home alone to miscarry."
Planned Parenthood of the Heartland spokesman Ashley Wright said medication abortions are safer than surgical ones and that women prefer the chemical method.
"They feel it is much more comfortable being in their homes and it's less invasive," Wright said. "Taking away that option is severely limiting the health care they have chosen to receive. One in four women choose medication abortions over surgical ones when it is available."
In 2015, Planned Parenthood has performed 500 medication abortions -- 300 in its Fayetteville clinic and 200 in its Little Rock location.
"Complications from abortions in general are rare. There is less than 1 percent chance of a complication at all," Allen said.
According to statistics from the U.S. National Library of Medicine, a division of the National Institutes of Health, deaths from surgical abortions occur once in every 1 million procedures through 63 days' gestation. For medication abortions, one death occurs in every 100,000 procedures. The statistic is the same for miscarriages.
"Women prefer medication abortion because it feels more natural, like a miscarriage, and/or because they can complete a medication abortion in the privacy of their homes, with the company of loved ones, and at a time of their choosing," the organization said in the lawsuit.
Furthermore, rape and sexual-assault victims prefer medication abortion because they "feel more in control of the experience and to avoid having instruments placed in their vagina," according to the court documents.
Fite called the rape argument a "straw man."
"They're just trying to find arguments. I don't think it's legitimate," Fite said. "This law does not address the morning-after pill. And they would still have access to the surgical abortions, which are safer in a facility with a doctor."
De Baca said in the court documents that not being able to provide medication abortions would also "result in our health centers losing significant revenue."
When an Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reporter requested the costs of the procedures as well as the annual revenue received by the organization from medication abortions, Wright said Planned Parenthood wanted to "focus on the law. It's really not about the revenue. It's more about lack of access than anything."
Pressed further, Wright said she would look into it further the next day but "doubted" the information could be released.
Planned Parenthood provides a range of reproductive health services, including medical exams, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted diseases, birth control and emergency contraception, HIV testing, and pregnancy testing.
Cox said he does not see a federal judge granting the restraining order based on the organization's arguments.
"I think it would be ridiculous for any judge to halt the enforcement of a law that simply says the FDA guidelines have to be followed. That would be too far-fetched to strike down or halt the enforcement of a law," Cox said. "It's also not the fault of the law that they can't find a doctor that wants to do abortions. That's a whole other issue."
Metro on 12/29/2015