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.