Arkansas bans abortion at 20 weeks
The Legislature overrode the governor's veto and passed the measure. Next on deck: A 12-week ban on abortion
By Katie McdonoughTopics: Abortion, abortion rights, Roe v. Wade, Life News, News
The Arkansas Legislature has overridden Gov. Mike Beebe’s veto, and an unconstitutional ban on abortion at 20 weeks has now become law. The House voted 53 to 28 to override the veto, and Thursday the Senate overrode it by a vote of 19-14. The new law will go into effect immediately, bringing Arkansas into the ranks of seven other states that restrict or ban abortions after the 20-week mark.
The new law provides for exceptions only in cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother, but has no such provisions for fetal anomalies or lethal fetal disorders. It is also in complete, total and flagrant violation of Roe v. Wade, but that was the point, of course.
Gov. Beebe vetoed the bill on the grounds that it is a violation of women’s constitutionally protected right to an abortion, explaining in a statement: “When I was sworn in as Governor I took an oath to preserve, protect, and defend both the Arkansas Constitution and the Constitution of the United States. I take that oath seriously.”
He also raised the financial risks of such an unconstitutional law (emphasis mine):
The adoption of unconstitutional laws can be very costly to the taxpayers of our State. It has been suggested that outside groups or others might represent the State for free in any litigation challenging the constitutionality of House Bill 1037, but even if that were to happen, that would only lessen the State’s own litigation costs. Lawsuits challenging unconstitutional laws also result in the losing party — in this case, the State — having to pay the costs and attorneys’ fees incurred by the litigants who successfully challenge the law. Those costs and fees can be significant. In the last case in which the constitutionality of an Arkansas abortion statute was challenged, Little Rock Family Planning Services v. Jegley, the State was ordered to pay the prevailing plaintiffs and their attorneys nearly $119,000 for work in the trial court, and an additional $28,900 for work on the State’s unsuccessful appeal. Those fee awards were entered in 1999, and litigation fees and costs have increased extensively since then. The taxpayers’ exposure, should HB 1037 become law, will be significantly greater.
None of this is to mention that the rights, bodies and lives of women in Arkansas have been used by their state Legislature as collateral in a culture war. Or that these laws criminalize women (literally) for exercising their constitutionally protected rights. Or that it is 2013 and we are we still, somehow, fighting to keep abortion safe and legal in this country.
But I digress.
Beebe is right, there will be legal challenges. And they will be costly. But even a lawsuit is no guarantee that the ban will be reversed: Georgia blocked a similar measure, while courts in Arizona upheld their state ban.
And sadly, the 20-week ban isn’t the only bad news out of Arkansas today. The new law might soon become redundant: The Senate has also just passed the “Heartbeat Bill,” which would restrict abortion at 12 weeks.
The measure is now set to go before the governor, who, once again, will likely veto it. There’s more hope this time that the veto might stick since the Senate overrode his earlier veto by a very narrow margin. Given how extreme the 12-week ban is (even by anti-choice standards), it’s more likely that some senators will reverse course.
Updates to come as the bill goes before the governor.
Katie McDonough is an assistant editor for Salon, focusing on lifestyle. Follow her on Twitter @kmcdonovgh or email her at kmcdonough@salo
Related Stories
More Related Stories
-
I'm not achieving my dreams!
-
The most popular Tumblr porn
-
Slave descendants seek equal rights from Cherokee Nation
-
Snapchat is secretly storing your photos
-
Peace Corps to allow gay couples to volunteer together
-
Facebook's hate speech problem
-
Rand Paul: Congress should apologize to Apple, not the other way around
-
When my home was destroyed
-
Okla. mother's tearful reunion with her 8-year-old son
-
New campaign compares gun control to anti-LGBT discrimination
-
Study: Salt Lake City is gay parenting capital of the U.S.
-
You are less beautiful than you think
-
"Ghetto" tour lets you gawk at New York's poor
-
Teen activist to meet with Abercrombie CEO
-
Watch: Family emerges from storm shelter after tornado
-
Okla. tornado survivor reunited with dog trapped in rubble live on camera
-
My miscarriages made me question being pro-choice
-
Why I tried to be a punk
-
I'm terrified of the cicada onslaught
-
Limbaugh: No one willing to impeach the first black president
-
SAT's right answers are all wrong
Featured Slide Shows
The week in 10 pics
close X- Share on Twitter
- Share on Facebook
- Thumbnails
- Fullscreen
- 1 of 11
- Previous
- Next
-
Lisa Montgomery embraces her nephew Thursday after a tornado tore apart her home in Cleburne, Texas. The twister killed six people and destroyed entire swaths of the North Texas town.
Credit: AP/LM Otero -
Jack McMahon, the defense attorney for abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, speaks outside the Criminal Justice Center in Philadelphia Tuesday. His client was convicted of killing three babies in his clinic, and will serve multiple life sentences.
Credit: AP/Matt Rourke -
A photo taken Monday captures Vice President Joe Biden's response to a Milwaukee second-grader's innovative proposal to end America's epidemic of gun violence. This guy!
Credit: AP/Jenny Aicher -
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., flanked by a grouper-eyed Michele Bachmann, addresses the IRS' admission that it targeted Tea Party groups in advance of the 2012 election. In an op-ed for CNN Thursday, the Kentucky senator slammed the president for his faux outrage.
Credit: AP/Molly Riley -
Ousted IRS chief Steven Miller is sworn in on Capitol Hill Friday. Miller testified before the House Ways and Means Committee on the extra scrutiny the agency gave conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status.
Credit: AP/J. Scott Applewhite -
Attorney General Eric Holder pauses as he testifies on Capitol Hill before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday. Holder is under fire, among other things, for the Justice Department's gathering of phone records at the Associated Press.
Credit: AP/Carolyn Kaster -
O.J. Simpson sits during an evidentiary hearing at Clark County District Court in Las Vegas, Nev., Thursday. Simpson, who is currently serving a nine-to-33-year sentence in state prison for armed robbery and kidnapping, is using a writ of habeas corpus to seek a new trial.
Credit: AP/Las Vegas Review-Journal/Jeff Scheid -
Major Tom to ground control: On Sunday astronaut Chris Hadfield recorded the first music video from space, a cover of David Bowie's "Space Oddity."
Credit: AP/NASA/Chris Hadfield -
When it rains it pours. President Barack Obama speaks during a news conference Thursday with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, inexplicably inspiring an #umbrellagate Twitter meme.
Credit: AP/Jacquelyn Martin -
A smoke plume rises high above a road block at the intersection of County A and Ross Road east of Solon Springs, Wis., Tuesday. No injuries were reported, but the the wildfire caused evacuations across northwestern Wisconsin.
Credit: AP/The Duluth News-Tribune/Clint Austin -
Recent Slide Shows
- Share on Twitter
- Share on Facebook
- Thumbnails
- Fullscreen
- 1 of 11
- Previous
- Next
Related Videos
Most Read
-
Oklahoma senator: Tornado aid "totally different" from Sandy aid
Jillian Rayfield
-
Horrifying new trend: Posting rapes to Facebook
Mary Elizabeth Williams
-
Facebook's hate speech problem
Mary Elizabeth Williams
-
Revenge, ego and the corruption of Wikipedia
Andrew Leonard
-
Brad Pitt keeps breaking his silence on how boring marriage to Jennifer Aniston was
Daniel D'Addario
-
GOP attorney general candidate tried to force women to report miscarriages to police
Katie Mcdonough
-
Beltway scandal machine breaks, knows nothing about America
Joan Walsh
-
Zach Galifianakis to take formerly homeless woman to "Hangover 3" premiere
Prachi Gupta
-
Inhofe and Coburn: Red state hypocrites
Joan Walsh
-
Anyone regret slashing National Weather Service budget now?
David Sirota
Popular on Reddit
links from salon.com

3144 points3145 points3146 points | 2721 comments

155 points156 points157 points | 63 comments

36 points37 points38 points | 11 comments
From Around the Web
Presented by Scribol
-
Diane Gilman: Baby Boomers: A New Life-Construct -- From "Invisible to Invincible!" -
Susan Gregory Thomas: Why Divorced Boomer Moms Don't Deserve The Bad Rap -
British Nanny Offered An Annual Salary Of $200,000 -
Arianna Huffington: What I Did (and Didn't Do) On My Summer Vacation -
Vivian Diller, Ph.D.: Maybe Happiness Begins At 50
- Britain's princes William and Charles plead for end to $15 billion black market trade in exotic animals (VIDEO)
- Golden Gate Bridge jumper rescued by passing sailors
- Key Senate committee approves immigration overhaul
- Peace Corps will accept same-sex couples
- Former Ford executives indicted for human rights abuses in Argentina






Comments
3 Comments