A decision by the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday not to reconsider its decision to lift a judge's ruling that has blocked four Arkansas abortion restrictions from taking effect means those restrictions could go into effect before Christmas.
The laws at issue, all enacted in 2017, are Act 45, which bans a common second-trimester abortion procedure, dilation and evacuation; Act 1018, which requires doctors to notify law enforcement when anyone 16 or younger obtains an abortion; Act 733, which requires doctors to review a woman's medical records if she knows the sex of the fetus she wants to abort, to ensure she isn't using abortion as a means of sex selection; and Act 603, which regulates the disposal of abortion remains, requiring the patient to notify a patient's partner or family -- which opponents say allows the third parties to effectively block the abortion.
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