According to NBC News, the Supreme Court has refused to hear a case by Planned Parenthood that challenged a law in Arkansas that banned ‘medication’ abortions in most cases.
Pete Williams explains:
BREAKING: US Supreme Court declines to consider whether controversial Arkansas law restricting access to medication abortions unconstitutionally burdens a woman's access to abortion services – @PeteWilliamsNBC pic.twitter.com/4LqB2w1zvM
— MSNBC (@MSNBC) May 29, 2018
Williams says that in 2015 Arkansas passed a law that required doctors who provide abortions via medications (pills) must have a contract with another doctor who has admitting privileges at a hospital.
Planned parenthood sued, but a lower court ruling has returned this case to the trial judge in order to figure out how many women this law actually affects.
The Supreme Court’s refusal to hear the case now leaves that lower court ruling in place, however it does something important. It removes a stay on the enforcement of the law which means Arkansas can now begin enforcing the law for the first time since it was passed in 2015!
The case doesn’t sound like it’s over, but this feels like a good step in the right direction.