Arkansas will require victims to report rape and incest cases before having an abortion
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Governor of Arkansas. Asa hutchinsonAsa HutchinsonA single bipartisan cure for the wave of anti-LGBTQ legislative attacks? Equality Act Passage Shows Sunday – Democrats’ Spending Plan In Spotlight Arkansas Governor Says Mandates Increase Vaccine Reluctance MORE (R) on Wednesday signed a bill that requires rape and incest victims to first report the crime to the police before undergoing an abortion beyond the state’s 20-week limit.
The legislation will apply to other abortion thresholds and will require abortion providers to document that a crime has been reported to law enforcement if the abortion is performed after 20 weeks, according to the station. local KATV Reports.
According to the media outlet, opponents of the bill argue that it will only further victimize women. KATV notes that the majority of rapes and sexual assaults go unreported to the police.
Supporters of the bill, which will come into force this summer, argued that it would provide the state with better information on the number of abortions performed for rape and incest.
This new bill does not apply to almost total ban on abortion signed Hutchinson earlier this year that makes no exceptions for incest or rape, reports KATV.
Hutchinson said at the time of signing the bill that it was deliberately drafted to go against Supreme Court precedents in an attempt to overturn current case law.
Hutchinson had said he would have preferred to include exceptions for rape and incest, but said he would sign the bill, whether it was against his personal beliefs. The bill only allows abortions if the pregnancy endangers the life of the woman carrying it.
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