Arkansas has recently adopted the most restrictive law on abortion in the country. The line has been drawn at 12 weeks of pregnancy, when a fetal heartbeat can be detected. The state senate voted to override Gov. Mike Beebe’s veto on the bill on, March 5. On Wednesday, the House followed their lead, with several Democrats joining the Republican majority.
Beebe called it “blatantly unconstitutional” and some people agree with him on that statement. A retired abortion clinic worker and pro-choice activist, who asked to remain anonymous, said she does not even think it will go into effect because of how unconstitutional it is.
“The Supreme Court has already ruled that you cannot interfere with a woman making a decision about her own body,” she said. “As long as there is not viability to the fetus.”
The law does contradict the limit established by Supreme Court, Roe v Wade, which give women a right to an abortion up until the time when the fetus becomes viable outside the womb. This is usually 24 weeks into the pregnancy
“This 12-week ban is completely unreasonable because women usually don’t even know that they’re pregnant until about 8 weeks,” activist said.
This bill closes the window of opportunity a little more. Women have only half the amount of time to get an abortion in Arkansas than they did before.
“I think this law will hurt [Arkansas] because if you lower the amount of time women can get an abortion, then it will make it a harder process,” junior Paige Eubanks said.
This new law is called the Human Heartbeat Protection Act. This 12-week policy bans abortion within the first trimester and according to pro-life supporter, Vicki Brown, this law is just what Arkansas needed.
“I believe this is a good start,” Brown said. “I think the reasoning for this is because they can for sure hear a heartbeat within that 12 weeks and they are deeming that as a life. So this is better than before.
Religion plays a big part in Brown’s opinions, but she believes that abortion is wrong all together. Not only does she believe a human life starts the moment it is conceived, she also thinks that the government should have little to no control over abortions.
“We are definitely moving in the right direction,” Brown said. “I don’t think abortion will ever be banned, but this definitely cuts the percentage of abortions in the state of Arkansas down.”
A few different outlooks or opinions on this new bill exist, but it is being challenged in court. The American Civil Liberties Union, whose mission is to “defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country be the constitution and the laws of the United States,” makes them the perfect candidate to challenge this new law in court.
“I don’t think this will have any effect on Arkansas because it will be challenged by the ACLU,” one activist said. “I myself have fought against some of their laws in court and they ruled in my favor. They lost the case and had to pay our attorneys.”
Eubanks claims to be passionate about being a pro-choice supporter. She believes government should not regulate or put a ban on abortions because of how that would affect the women who chose to have an abortion.
“I think people are going to get an abortion if they want it whether it’s legal or illegal. If it is legal, then it will be safer and there will be fewer fatalities because of it,” Eubanks said.
Sophomore Rebecca Cario agrees with Eubanks and believes that banning abortions or even putting a 12-week ban on them would do too much to limit them to women or girls in need.
“They drill it through your head that you shouldn’t have sex, but students do it anyway,” sophomore Rebecca Cario said. “If a student gets pregnant and is denied the right to an abortion, the life they had planned out ahead of them is drastically changed.”
Cario is mainly concerned for the problems this law could possibly pose for high school girls all over Arkansas.
“I think that especially in high school, when a person has their whole life in front of them and they make a mistake, their future plans and goals all go down the drain,” Cario said.
Despite the fact that this law is already being challenged in court, Brown is hopeful that this law will stick and possibly even spread into other states. She hopes it will encourage other states to join Arkansas and show them that one state can make a difference.
“I think this is how it starts,” Brown said. “The more states that support it, it obviously gives it a better chance to stand against the current law.”
The main supporter of this law was Sen. Jason Rapert. He stood firmly for his bill and has said he believed it would gain enough support to stand strong in court. His hope is that it will change abortion policy in our nation from coast to coast. If the bill does make it past court, it is planned to take effect sometime during the summer.
