The Supreme Court allowed an Arkansas medication abortion restriction to stand yesterday after rejecting an appeal by Planned Parenthood.
Arkansas currently has a ban on facilities administering medication abortions unless the providers of such abortions have admitting privileges to hospitals equipped with doctors who handle drug-related emergencies.
While this may not seem like an excessive request, two Planned Parenthood facilities located in Little Rock and Fayetteville who only perform medication abortions are likely to close under the new law, leaving just one abortion facility in the state. The only abortion provider which would continue practice is a clinic in Little Rock providing surgical abortions in addition to medication abortions.
Arkansas enacted the law claiming medication abortions were riskier because the multi-step process often involves self-administering very powerful drugs at home without medical supervision.
The Supreme Court seemed to agree with the law, rejecting the appeal without any published dissent from liberal justices. Planned Parenthood released a statement saying it will stop medication abortions immediately to comply with the law, but will continue to seek an emergency court order to block the legislation.
Attorney General Leslie Rutledge applauded today’s ruling saying, “Protecting the health and well-being of women and the unborn will always be a priority. We are a pro-life state and always will be as long as I am attorney general.”
