Abortion Bill

Gov. ASa Hutchinson Signed Abortion Ban Without Exceptions For Rape Or INcest, Then Suggested The Legislature Revisit The Ban AFter Leaked Draft Of DObbs decision

Highlights:

2021: Hutchinson Signed Abortion Ban Into Law Without Exceptions For Rape Or Incest

Hutchinson Signed Total Abortion Ban Without Exceptions For Rape Or Incest 

Hutchinson Signed Legislation That Banned Nearly All Abortions In Arkansas. According to the Associated Press, “Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on Tuesday signed into law legislation banning nearly all abortions in the state, a sweeping measure that supporters hope will force the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit its landmark Roe v. Wade decision but opponents vow to block before it takes effect later this year. The Republican governor had expressed reservations about the bill, which only allows the procedure to save the life of the mother and does not provide exceptions for those impregnated in an act of rape or incest. Arkansas is one of at least 14 states where legislators have proposed outright abortion bans this year.” [Associated Press, 3/9/21] 

2021: Hutchinson Signed SB 6 Which Prohibited Abortion In All Cases Except To Save The Life Of The Mother, Without Exceptions For Rape And Incest. According to ABC News, “Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed SB 6, which passed in the state legislature and prohibits abortion in all cases except to save the life of the mother. Cases involving rapes and incest are not considered exceptions under the law, a move that Hutchinson said in a statement he did not agree with.” [ABC News, 5/10/21]

The Legislation Was Signed Intentionally To Attempt To Overturn Roe

SB 6 Was Intentionally In Contradiction Of Roe In Order To Set The Stage For The Supreme Court To Overturn Roe. According to ABC News, “‘SB6 is in contradiction of binding precedents of the U.S. Supreme Court, but it is the intent of the legislation to set the stage for the Supreme Court overturning current case law,’ Hutchinson said in a statement following the bill's signing.” [ABC News, 5/10/21]

Hutchinson Tried To Distance Himself From Abortion Ban He Signed After Draft Of Supreme Court Decision Overturning Roe Was Leaked

Hutchinson Said Arkansas’ Near-Total Abortion Ban Should Be “Revisited” To Provide Exceptions For Rape Or Incest If Supreme Court Overturned Roe 

Hutchinson Said Arkansas’ Near-Total Abortion Ban That He Signed Into Law Should Be Revisited To Provide Exceptions For Rape Or Incest. According to CNN, “Arkansas’ near-total abortion ban should be ‘revisited’ to provide exceptions for instances of rape or incest should the Supreme Court overturn Roe v. Wade, the state’s Republican governor said Sunday. ‘While it’s still life in the womb, life of the unborn, the conception was under criminal circumstances, either incest or rape. And so, those are two exceptions I have recognized I believe are very appropriate,’ Gov. Asa Hutchinson told CNN’s Dana Bash on ‘State of the Union’ when asked why a young girl impregnated by a family member should be forced to carry that child to term. ‘And what will happen as time goes on, if Roe v. Wade is reversed, these are going to become very real circumstances. I think the debate and discussion will be – will continue and that very well could be revisited,’ he said, adding later: ‘I believe that those exceptions are going to be important … overall to save lives because the public understands those exceptions, the importance of it. So I think that will be revisited.’” [CNN, 5/22/22] 

March 2021 Abortion Ban Hutchinson Signed Did Not Include Exceptions For Rape, Incest Or Fetal Abnormalities. According to CNN, “Signed in March 2021 by Hutchinson, Arkansas’ abortion ban would go into effect if Roe is reversed. The law would ban providers from performing abortions ‘except to save the life of a pregnant woman in a medical emergency’ and makes no exceptions for instances of rape, incest or fetal anomalies. Those found to violate the law could face fines of up to $100,000 and up to 10 years in prison. The governor has been blunt about the law’s goal of overhauling abortion rights. He told CNN last year: ‘I signed it because it is a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade.’” [CNN, 5/22/22] 

Hutchinson Said He Signed Arkansas Abortion Ban Even Though He Disagreed With Its Lack Of Exceptions For Incest And Rape 

Hutchinson Told CNN He Signed Arkansas Trigger Law Even Though He Disagreed With Its Lack Of Exceptions For Incest And Rape. According to The Guardian, “Hutchinson’s remarks give a revealing insight into the twisted human and political quandaries that are certain to arise should the US supreme court, as expected, destroy the constitutional right to an abortion enshrined in Roe v Wade when it issues its ruling next month. The governor told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday that in 2019 he had signed the Arkansas trigger law, Senate Bill 6, which would ban almost all abortions the instant Roe were reversed, even though he disagreed with its lack of exceptions for incest and rape. Asked why he had put his signature on the law, despite the fact that it would prohibit all abortions other than in cases where a pregnant woman’s life were in imminent danger, he said: ‘I support the exceptions of rape and incest … I believe that should have been added; it did not have the support of the assembly.’” [The Guardian, 5/22/22] 

Hutchinson Said “Those Are Heartbreaking Circumstances” When CNN’s Dana Bash Pushed Him On His Passage Of Trigger Ban That Did Not Include Exceptions For Incest And Rape. According to The Guardian, “But Bash pressed Hutchinson on what would happen if the absence of rape and incest exceptions cannot be revisited in the law that he had personally approved, pointing out that his term as governor comes to an end in January. ‘If you can’t change [the trigger law], that means girls who are still children, 11- and 12-year-olds, might be in that situation in a very real way in just a couple of months,’ Bash said. ‘Those are heartbreaking circumstances,’ Hutchinson replied. ‘When we passed these trigger laws we were trying … to reduce abortions, but whenever you see that real-life circumstances like that the debate is going to continue and the will of the people may or may not change.’” [The Guardian, 5/22/22]

Hutchinson Celebrated Overturning Of Roe

Hutchinson Said He Thought Roe Was Wrongly Decided For Decades

Hutchinson Said “For Decades I Have Said Roe v. Wade Was Wrongly Decided” On Day Supreme Court Overturned Roe. According to a tweet from Governor Asa Hutchinson, “For decades I have said Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided. Today, the Supreme Court overturned the abortion ruling and returned the issue to the states. Arkansas is a pro-life state, and we are able now to protect life.” [Twitter, @AsaHutchinson, 6/24/22]