Arkansas 12-Week Abortion Ban Becomes Law

Source: Huffington Post

The Arkansas House of Representatives voted 56-33 on Wednesday to override Gov. Mike Beebe's (D) veto of a ban on abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy, ensuring that the most restrictive abortion law in the country will now go into effect.

Under the new law, proposed by state Sen. Jason Rapert (R-Conway), doctors who perform abortions on a woman who is more than 12 weeks pregnant will lose their medical licenses unless the woman is a victim of rape or incest, her life is in danger or the fetus has a highly lethal abnormality. Republican supporters of the bill argue that abortion should be banned that early in a pregnancy because the fetal heartbeat can be detected at that point.

Several states, including Arkansas, have passed bans on abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy, based on the medically unsubstantiated theory that fetuses can feel pain at that point. But Arkansas is the first state to pass a 12-week ban.

Beebe said he vetoed the bill on Monday because it violates the precedent set by the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which protects women's constitutional right to have an abortion until the fetus is viable outside the womb (usually around 24 weeks).

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/06/arkansas-12-week-abortion-ban_n_2821739.html