LITTLE ROCK (KTHV) — Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge announced a move on Wednesday that could end up in the national conversation over abortion.
Rutledge announced her plans to petition the U.S. Supreme Court over the constitutionality of the Arkansas’ Human Heartbeat Protection Act, a law that prohibits abortions after 12 weeks of pregnancy if a heartbeat is detected.
“As a strong defender of all human life, we want to make sure that Arkansas law is defended,” Rutledge told THV11. “Beyond my duty, I firmly believe that the state has a profound interest in protecting the lives of the unborn, which is exactly what this law does.”
A three-judge panel of the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that prohibiting abortions after 12 weeks is unconstitutional, but state Senator Jason Rapert, the lead sponsor of the original bill, said the time is right for the court to take another look at the issue.
“The state of Arkansas is pro-life,” said Rapert Wednesday. “Obviously, I think with the Planned Parenthood videos that have come out and are so prominent, I think that, well, to say it from my perspective: God has an interesting way of bringing things at the right time and the right place.”
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