A novel argument for chipping away at legalised abortion in the United States is catching on amongst the judiciary: abortion should not be used for eugenic purposes.
Last week the US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit struck down Arkansas Acts 493 and 619. The first attempted to ban abortions after 18 weeks because it is possible that some foetuses are viable at that stage. The second would have forbidden abortions of a foetus with Down Syndrome. Little Rock Family Planning Services sued.
The court found that it had no choice but to uphold the US Supreme Court which had ruled in
Federal judges block Arkansas abortion laws, pending further decisions catholicworldreport.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from catholicworldreport.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
January 7, 2021 08:03:02 am
The US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit upheld an order on Tuesday blocking Arkansas laws that ban abortions after 18 weeks of pregnancy and abortions due to a prenatal diagnosis of Down syndrome.
Little Rock Family Planning Services sued the state in 2019. The clinic challenged the abortion restrictions in Act 493, which banned abortions after 18 weeks, and in Act 619, which banned abortions on the basis of a Down syndrome diagnosis. The clinic argued that the restrictions were unconstitutional based on Supreme Court precedent. The Supreme Court held in Planned Parenthood v. Casey that there cannot be restrictions on abortion until a fetus is viable, which is typically at 24 weeks.
Judge Baker renews order blocking four Arkansas anti-abortion laws
Judge Kristine Baker has renewed her order blocking enforcement of four Arkansas anti-abortion laws.
She’d blocked them once before and the 8th Circuit lifted that order saying she needed to provide more analysis of the laws’ obvious damaging impact on abortions by
Little Rock Family Planning Services, the only medical abortion provider in the state.
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One of the laws blocks the safest and most commonly used medical procedure for abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy. It’s the only method the clinic uses in the second trimester and its enforcement would effectively end such abortions in Arkansas.