Appeals Court Upholds Arkansas Temporary Surgical Abortion Ban

Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge
Photo Credit: Gage Skidmore / Flickr

Three judges on the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals overruled a district judge's temporary restraining order against the Arkansas Department of Health's ban on surgical abortions for the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On April 3, the Arkansas Department of Health issued a directive requiring that all non-essential surgeries be postponed. District Judge Kristine Baker put a temporary restraining order on the directive, specifically creating an exemption for surgical abortions. Now, a three-judge panel from the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has dissolved the temporary restraining order.

A statement from the Arkansas Attorney General's office:

“With the Eighth Circuit’s decision, there is no longer a judge-made exemption for surgical abortions. Every non-medically necessary surgery must be postponed. The Eighth Circuit also confirmed the procedurally suspect nature of allowing abortion providers to hand-pick the judge that hear their cases.”

“[The Eighth Circuit] agreed with Arkansas that the district court committed a clear abuse of discretion in creating a carve-out from state law for surgical abortions,” said Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge.

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