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The American Civil Liberties Union sued the state over its new near-total abortion ban, and this week, the organization requested a temporary stay of the law before it goes into effect in July.
Back up: What does the law in question say?
The law, passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor this year, bans all abortions except when the pregnant person’s life is threatened.
Its sponsor, Sen. Jason Rapert, R-Conway, has explicitly stated a desire for the ban to spur the United States Supreme Court to overturn its ruling in Roe v. Wade, which said the constitutional right to privacy encompasses the decision of whether or not to terminate a pregnancy.
Under the terms of the law, Act 309, performing or attempting to perform an abortion would be an unclassified felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $100,000. The law would not penalize women who seek abortions and would not prohibit the sale and use of contraceptives.
The law is not set to go into effect until July 28, and currently, it is legal in Arkansas for abortions to be performed up until the 20th week of pregnancy.
What has the ACLU’s lawsuit said?
The initial filing from May argues the new law is unconstitutional, given the last 50 or so years of court precedent holding that broadly, abortions are legal, though some restrictions are permissible.
This week, the organization asked the court to bar the law from going into effect while the case is underway.
That procedure, called a preliminary injunction, is fairly common in lawsuits of this sort.
What happens next?
The case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker, who will decide on the injunction sometime soon.
In the past, she granted an injunction for a number of laws restricting abortion in Arkansas, including a 2019 law that would have outlawed abortions after 18 weeks except in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother.
That injunction was upheld in January by a three-judge panel on the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Read more on the latest developments in the case from federal courts reporter Dale Ellis.