Arkansas, Utah Lawmakers Send 18-Week Abortion Bans to Governors

Zachary Stieber
By Zachary Stieber
March 14, 2019US News
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Arkansas, Utah Lawmakers Send 18-Week Abortion Bans to Governors
A 3D ultrasound showing a baby inside the womb. (Fotopress/Getty Images)

Utah and Arkansas lawmakers have passed 18-week abortion bans that are expected to be signed by the governors of each state.

In Arkansas, the state Senate passed the ban this week, about a month after it was passed by the state House, and the House gave final approval to the bill, which included newly added exceptions for rape and incest. The bill, HB 1439, already included an exception for medical emergencies.

It passed the state Senate 28-6 and the House 86-1.

According to lawmakers writing in the bill (pdf), “the United States is one of only seven nations in the world that permits nontherapeutic or elective abortion on request after the twentieth week of gestation. Fully 75 percent of all nations do not permit abortion after 12 weeks, except to save the life and preserve the physical health of the mother.”

Lawmakers said that through updated medical science, doctors and others “know more about human prenatal development than ever before, including without limitation: between 5 and 6 weeks’ gestation, an unborn human being’s heart begins to beat; an unborn human being begins to move about in the womb at approximately 8 weeks gestation; … an unborn human being’s vital organs begin to function at 10 weeks.”

“At 12 weeks gestation, an unborn human being can open and close his or her fingers, make sucking motions, and sense stimulation from outside the womb,” lawmakers added. “At this stage, the unborn human being takes on ‘the human form’ in all relevant aspects as stated in ‘Gonzalez v. Carhart (2007).'”

doctor does ultrasound
In an undated photo, a doctor performs an ultrasound on a pregnant woman during her visit to a gynecologist. (Jennifer Jacobs/AFP/Getty Images)

In addition, the majority of abortions performed after 15 weeks gestation are “dismemberment abortions,” which are prohibited under state law, lawmakers said, calling the procedure “a barbaric practice.”

Under the law, if a woman got an abortion past 18 weeks, she would not be prosecuted, but the physician who performed it would have his or her license suspended or revoked. In addition, if the doctor knowingly violated the law, if it passes, then the woman could sue the doctor.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican, has said he supports the bill and a spokesman told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette before the House passed the revised that Hutchinson would sign the legislation.

According to the state Department of Health, there were 3,249 abortions recorded in 2017, with 173 being performed at 16 weeks or later and 75 of those being performed at 18 weeks or later.

asa hutchinson
Republican Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson speaks at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland, Ohio, on July 19, 2016. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Family Council President Jerry Cox was among those praising the move, saying the legislation “is a really good bill.”

“There’s no doubt really about the person who would harm a child at 18 weeks. If you look, the photographs of the children in the womb, it’s unmistakable that those are babies,” he said. “I think it’s vital not only for the sake of unborn children but also for the health of women because later in the pregnancy the woman gets an abortion, the more likely there are to be health risks. That’s a proven fact.”

The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas previously threatened to take the state to court if the bill became law.

The measure came several weeks after Hutchinson signed a law (pdf) that would ban abortion in the state if the U.S. Supreme Court ends up overturning Roe v. Wade. Other measures being considered include one (pdf) that would prohibit aborting an unborn baby for the sole reason of it having tested for Down syndrome.

Utah on Wednesday also passed a measure that would ban abortion after 18 weeks. HB136 originally set the limit for legal abortions at 15 weeks gestation but was revised.

NTD Photo
A doctor speaks to two women waking from anesthesia after undergoing abortions in a file photo in Germany. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

The bill includes exceptions for a severe brain abnormality in the unborn child, in addition to medical emergencies for the mother, or in cases of incest or rape.

The bill was passed by the state Senate 23-6, following approval from the state House in a 57-15 vote in February.

A representative for Utah Gov. Gary Herbert declined to comment but referred the Salt Lake Tribune to previous statements the governor has made, which indicated he would sign the bill.

For instance, last month Hebert said, “I’m a pro-life guy, and that’s where my biases are.”

Pro-abortion group Planned Parenthood said it will challenge the bill in court if it is signed into law.

The measure came several weeks after Utah lawmakers approved a ban on abortions when the sole motivation is the diagnosis of Down syndrome but the bill included a clause that only triggers its effect if courts uphold similar bans in other states.

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