FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, June 19, 2018
Little Rock – Late Monday afternoon U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker issued a temporary restraining order against Arkansas’ 2015 Abortion-Inducing Drugs Safety Act.
The law requires abortion-inducing drugs to be administered according to FDA protocols and ensures clinics that perform drug-induced abortions contract with a physician who has hospital admitting privileges to handle any complications from the abortion. In May the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear arguments over a 2016 order Judge Baker issued against the law, allowing it to go into effect. Judge Baker’s latest restraining order once again blocks the law in Arkansas.
Family Council President Jerry Cox released a statement saying, “Judge Baker’s decision to block this law means women who experience complications from abortions will have to drive themselves to the nearest emergency room, where they will be seen by doctors and nurses who know nothing about their medical history. This law passed with strong support in the Arkansas Legislature, and it has already survived one round of legal challenges in federal court. It protects the health and safety of pregnant women in Arkansas. Judge Baker’s decision undermines the health and safety of Arkansans.”
Cox dismissed Baker’s claim that the law created an undue burden. “Arkansas has about 6,000 licensed physicians, and a majority of them have admitting privileges with one or more hospitals. It is not unreasonable for the State to require abortion clinics to contract with a doctor who has hospital admitting privileges.”
Cox said he is confident the law will be upheld on appeal. “Ultimately, this question is going to end up in a higher court. Attorney General Rutledge’s office has done an excellent job defending this law. Her team won some big victories in federal court last year, and I believe this law will be upheld on appeal.”
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Photo Credit: By Brian Turner (Flickr: My Trusty Gavel) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.
