Arkansas has approved a new law on abortion that will give husbands the right to block their wives' plan to terminate the pregnancy. Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed the new law, which will take effect in mid-2017. It has once again incited a debate between pro-life and pro-choice supporters.
Buried under the "Unborn Child Protection From Dismemberment Abortion Act," is a clause that allows for husbands to sue the doctors performing the abortion. The law also doesn't exempt cases of pregnancy due to marital rape or incest. As long as the father can prove that the child is his, he can file a suit to stop the doctors from doing the procedure.
Pro-choice advocates believe this new abortion law puts women at a disadvantage. It's as if the burden and punishment are for the women, especially in cases of rape or incest.
"I find it highly embarrassing and highly insulting that any such a thought could come across anyone's mind," Democrat Sen. Joyce Elliot of Little Rock said, according to Arkansas Matter. "Then to put it into a law and have so many people go along with it makes it even harder."
Elliot revealed the deliberation in the Senate happened swiftly, so she wasn't able to question some of the clauses. Another Arkansas senator, however, defended the husband's right to sue or stop the abortion. "I think a woman does have control over her own body, but when you have created a life, you created a life with someone else," Republican Sen. Missy Irvin of Mountain View said.
A spokesperson from the governor's office clarified that the law doesn't grant rights for criminal acts. According to Snopes, a rapist who fathers a child cannot sue the mother for damages. The mother doesn't also have any civil liabilities if she was to "receive a dismemberment abortion" in this case.
Dismemberment abortion usually involves dilation and evacuation (D & E) procedures or the removal of the fetus through surgery. It's usually done if the pregnancy is between 14 to 16 weeks.
