Michael Cardinal, FISM News
Arkansas became the newest state to ban abortion when Governor Asa Hutchinson signed Senate Bill 6 into law on Tuesday.
The bill is one of the most bold abortion bans from a state yet, as it does not make exceptions for cases of rape or incest. The only exception allowed under the new law is when it is done in an effort to “save the life of a pregnant woman in a medical emergency.” Under this law, those found guilty of performing an abortion could be fined up to $100,000 or serve up to 10 years in prison.
Hutchinson said he signed the controversial bill into law due to “overwhelming legislative support and my sincere and long-held pro-life convictions.” He did say he had wished that the bill had provided incest and rape exceptions, as he believes it would “increase the chances for a review by the U.S. Supreme Court.”
Arkansas now joins at least 14 states who have signed similar bills in an attempt to push a Supreme Court review of the 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade decision. Although many of the bans in other bills have been struck down in federal courts, Republican lawmakers continue to push forth these bills in hopes that the Supreme Court will step in to protect the lives of the unborn. This purpose was outlined in the bill as it reads,
It is time for the United States Supreme Court to redress and correct the grave injustice and the crime against humanity which is being perpetuated by its decisions in Roe v. Wade, Doe v. Bolton, and Planned Parenthood v. Casey
Many liberal organizations have vowed to fight this bill, which would not take affect until summer. Holly Dickinson, Executive Director of the Arkansas ACLU, said, “Abortion is legal in all 50 states, including Arkansas, and we’ll fight as long as it takes to keep it that way. Governor Hutchinson: We’ll see you in court.”
While the left views this bill as “extreme,” those who uphold the scientific evidence that proves life starts at conception, see this is a logical response – to protect babies both in and out of the womb. Republican lawmakers have been more active in pushing through new legislation related to abortion, in hope that with the new appointees to the Supreme Court, there is greater opportunity to prevent the continued murder of American’s most defenseless population.