by Steve Brawner (BRAWNERSTEVE@MAC.COM)
With a stroke of a pen, Attorney General Leslie Rutledge on Friday (June 24) certified that almost all abortions are now illegal in Arkansas. Her action followed the U.S. Supreme Court opinion published earlier in the day that ended the constitutional protection to abortion.
Rutledge certified that the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization triggered Act 180 of 2019. That law states that most abortions become illegal in Arkansas if Roe v. Wade were overturned.
The law states that abortions are legal only “to save the life of a pregnant woman in a medical emergency.” It also excludes ectopic pregnancies, where the fertilized egg implants somewhere other than in the uterus.
Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge