A Pulaski County circuit judge on Thursday temporarily blocked state regulators from continuing to impose billing restrictions on Arkansas' three abortion-providing clinics.
It marked the second time Judge Tim Fox has ruled in the case. Thursday's decision came two weeks after a federal judge declined to get involved in the dispute over the legality of some of the clinics' billing procedures.
The state Board of Health determined in October that Little Rock Family Planning Services and Planned Parenthood clinics in Little Rock and Fayetteville had violated a provision of Arkansas Code 20-16-1703 -- a 2017 addition to the 2015 Woman's Right to Know Act.
The law requires the clinics to provide certain services to women at least 48 hours before an abortion, but blocks them from charging until after the 48-hour waiting period is over.
The clinics had complained that the provision costs them thousands of dollars and violates the state and federal constitutions, including protections for patient privacy and contract rights.
The clinics appealed the board's finding to circuit court, and Fox subsequently ordered the ban at a January hearing after finding a "substantial probability" that the billing law in question violates the state and federal constitutions.
But state lawyers immediately moved the appeal to federal court, preventing Fox's ruling from taking effect then.
On March 13, U.S. District Judge Billy Roy Wilson determined that he has no jurisdiction over the issues raised in the appeal, so he sent the case back to Fox.
The clinics had complained that the switch to federal court was an attempt at "forum-shopping" after lawyers for Attorney General Leslie Rutledge learned that Fox was ruling against them.
However, since Fox's jurisdiction over the appeal was reinstated, the clinics' attorney, Bettina Brownstein, has moved to drop the appeal, reporting that the Health Department has accepted the clinics' proposal to address regulators' concerns about their billing practices.
Fox set a hearing for April 8 in the case.
The Board of Health's decision to sanction the clinics last year caused one board member to resign. Robbie Thomas-Knight quit in December, stating the decision came "without a fair discussion or hearing" and "appeared to be motivated by punishment of the facility for the legal services they provided."
She also complained that the board includes the director of the Department of Health and others with connections to the department, which she said creates the appearance of bias when the board is deciding on appeals of the department's actions.
The board's 11-2 sanctioning vote included the three members who are employed by the department: Director Nate Smith; Tom Jones, a senior environmental health specialist; and Mike Riddell, the department's clinical quality improvement director.
Rep. Robin Lundstrum, R-Elm Springs, who sponsored the 2015 law, told the health board that the restriction on collecting money is meant to "ensure no woman feels obligated to have an abortion even if she determines abortion may not be the best choice for her."
Metro on 03/29/2019