A three-judge panel of the 8th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright’s March 2014 ruling that certain provisions in Act 301 of 2013, known as the Arkansas Human Heartbeat Protection Act, are unconstitutional.
As passed by the Legislature, Act 301 would require a woman seeking an abortion at 12 weeks or later into a pregnancy to undergo an ultrasound to check for a fetal heartbeat and would ban an abortion if a heartbeat is detected, with exceptions for rape, incest and medical emergencies.
Then-Gov. Mike Beebe, a Democrat, vetoed the bill, saying it was unconstitutional, but the Republican-led Legislature overrode his veto.
Wright ruled last year that the provisions in the law banning an abortion if a heartbeat is detected were unconstitutional, though she left standing the provisions requiring a check for a fetal heartbeat. She had previously delayed the law from taking effect while the case was pending, so it was never in full effect.
The state appealed the ruling to the 8th Circuit, which said in its opinion Wednesday that the state never presented evidence to refute testimony that at 12 weeks a fetus is not viable, or able to survive outside the womb. The U.S. Supreme Court has said that states cannot bar a woman from obtaining an abortion before a fetus becomes viable.
