LITTLE ROCK – The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas today condemned the passage of Senate Bill 149, which would criminalize nearly all abortions in Arkansas if the U.S. Supreme Court overturns Roe v. Wade.

Rita Sklar, ACLU of Arkansas executive director, made this statement:

“Today the Arkansas General Assembly carried out another extreme and unnecessary attack on women and their health. Deeply personal medical decisions should be made by women in consultation with their families and doctors – not dictated by politicians. This heartless ban would force a woman to continue a pregnancy even when it would endanger her health, or resulted from rape or incest. Criminalizing abortion will not make it more rare, just less safe. If Governor Hutchinson allows this unconstitutional intrusion into a woman’s private medical decisions to become law, the ACLU of Arkansas stands ready to defend Arkansas women and their reproductive rights.”