Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed Tuesday (March 9) a bill that prohibits abortions except in cases involving the health of the mother. The pro-life measure does not have an allowance for abortions in the case of rape or incest.
The bill, SB 6 (now Act 309), sailed through the supermajority Republican state Legislature. With 78 Republicans in the House and 27 in the Senate, the bill met little resistance in either chamber.
Though litigation is expected over the law, without court intervention it would go into effect in Arkansas on Aug. 3, 2021.
Hutchinson had voiced concerns about the measure due to the lack of a provision for rape or incest. In signing the bill, he acknowledged that concern, but it did not stop him from making the bill state law.