Court blocks law that prevents Planned Parenthood from providing abortions in Arkansas

A federal appeals court has blocked a legislation that would have prevented Planned Parenthood from providing abortions in Arkansas.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the injunction against Act 577 or Abortion-Inducing Drugs Safety Act, which requires medication-induced abortion providers to have a contract with a physician at a nearby hospital in the case of emergencies.

Passed in 2015, the legislation was supposed to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2016, but it was put on hold after Planned Parenthood challenged the law in court.

According to The Daily Caller, a lower court issued a temporary restraining order against the measure, saying it placed an undue burden on women's access to abortion.

The three-judge panel of the appeals court lifted the restraining order in July, sending the case back to U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker. The panel asked Baker to look into the number of women who would be unduly burdened by the requirement and determine whether it amounts to a "large fraction" of women seeking the abortion pill in Arkansas.

On March 14, 2016, Baker issued another injunction against the law, and it has been ineffective since that time.

Planned Parenthood expressed concern that it would no longer be able to offer abortion pill at its facilities in Little Rock and Fayetteville if the law takes effect. The said facilities do not perform surgical abortions, according to Associated Press.

The bill's sponsors, as well as Arkansas' state attorney general, have contended the law was aimed at protecting the health and safety of women undergoing abortions in cases of emergency post-abortion.

"It is unfortunate that Planned Parenthood continues to fight reasonable, common-sense health and safety regulations to ensure that medication abortions are conducted in a safe manner," Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge's spokesperson said on Friday.

"Attorney General Rutledge will continue to defend this law and urge the Supreme Court of the United States to reject certiorari," the spokesperson added.

The Guttmacher Institute, a national research group that advocates for legal abortion, has noted that seven other states have similar restrictions requiring agreements with local hospitals.

Planned Parenthood has indicated that it will petition the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case. "As we march forward to seek review in the U.S. Supreme Court, we stand by the countless Arkansans who will continue accessing expert, compassionate health care at our health centers in Fayetteville and Little Rock," Aaron Samulcek, interim president and chief executive officer of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, said in a statement.