Tag: Planned Parenthood

Three Abortion Facilities Will File Legal Challenge After Found Violating State Law

Planned Parenthood’s two abortion facilities in Arkansas as well as a separate surgical abortion facility in Little Rock filed a notice in court that they will appeal the State Board of Health’s recent determination that the clinics violated a pro-life law Family Council supported in 2015.

In 2015 the Arkansas Legislature passed the Woman’s Right to Know Act that ensures women inquiring about abortion are given all the facts first — including information about abortion’s risks, consequences, and alternatives. The law also says women must be given at least 48 hours to weigh their options and that they cannot be charged for the abortion or for services related to the abortion before that 48-hour reflection period is over.

In some states, abortion facilities charge women up front for an abortion, before the end of any waiting periods. This can make the woman feel financially obligated to go through with the abortion even if she has second thoughts about abortion. The Woman’s Right to Know Act helps prevent that from happening in Arkansas.

Since 2015, annual reports from the Arkansas Department of Health indicate more than 700 women have chosen not to have abortions after receiving the information outlined in the Woman’s Right to Know Act.

Last spring inspectors with the Arkansas Department of Health cited Planned Parenthood’s facilities and Little Rock Family Planning Services for charging women for some procedures related to abortion before the end of the 48-hour reflection period. The three clinics took their case to the State Board of Health, which determined last October that the facilities had in fact violated state law.

This week the three clinics announced they will appeal that decision in court.

According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Planned Parenthood, Little Rock Family Planning Services, and the ACLU will argue that the law is unconstitutional and overly burdensome and that the Health Department exceeded its authority.

I am confident Arkansas can win this legal challenge over the state’s pro-life law.

Many states require abortionists to wait anywhere from 24-72 hours before performing an abortion, and Arkansas is not the only state that prohibits abortion facilities from charging women ahead of time for abortion or abortion-related procedures.

One of the jobs of the Arkansas Department of Health is to inspect abortion facilities to ensure they are complying with state laws. If they don’t have the authority to cite Planned Parenthood for violating this law, who does?

Photo Credit: By Brian Turner (Flickr: My Trusty Gavel) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

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Planned Parenthood Wants to Keep Options Open on Lawsuit Over AR Pro-Life Law

Earlier this month we wrote that Planned Parenthood was dropping its legal challenge in the federal Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals over the Abortion-Inducing Drugs Safety Act.

This 2015 law requires abortionists who perform chemical abortions to follow FDA protocols, and it requires abortion facilities that offer abortion drugs like RU-486 to contract with a doctor who has hospital admitting privileges to handle any complications arising from the abortion.

Requiring abortionists to follow FDA protocols may not sound like much, but it prevents abortion doctors from giving women abortion drugs later in pregnancy than the FDA recommends, which saves the lives of those unborn children.

After three years of wrangling in court, Planned Parenthood announced a few weeks ago that it would comply with the law even though it still thinks the law is unconstitutional.

Today the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that Planned Parenthood has filed a request with U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker to put its lawsuit on hold for at least six months, but let Planned Parenthood renew its lawsuit against the state in the future if it so desires, writing,

Planned Parenthood asked Monday that a federal judge put a six-month hold on its lawsuit challenging a state law affecting medication abortions or let the case be dismissed under a provision allowing it to be refiled if necessary. . . .

In a filing Monday, Planned Parenthood attorneys said they want to submit a status report at the end of a six-month period, so Baker “can determine whether to extend the stay or dismiss the case without prejudice,” which would allow the case to be refiled.

In other words, it sounds like Planned Parenthood is going to comply with the law for now, but they want to keep their options open.

This is still a pro-life victory. The Abortion-Inducing Drugs Safety Act is going to be enforced as intended, and even if Planned Parenthood were to re-file its lawsuit against the state in the future, I believe Arkansas would win the case.

Photo Credit: By jordanuhl7 [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

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State Board of Health Rules Arkansas Abortion Clinics Violated State Law

Yesterday Arkansas’ State Board of Health determined Planned Parenthood clinics in Little Rock and Fayetteville and a surgical abortion clinic in Little Rock all violated a state informed-consent law earlier this year.

In 2015 the Arkansas Legislature passed Act 1086 by Rep. Robin Lundstrum (R — Elm Springs).

At the time, Act 1086 arguably was the best informed-consent law in the nation. It made sure women inquiring about abortion received all the facts — including information about abortion’s consequences, risks, and alternatives.

Act 1086 also required abortion clinics to give women at least 48 hours to consider their options before having an abortion, and it prohibited abortionists from charging women for the abortion and any related procedures before the end of that 48-hour period.

This law was strengthened in 2017 by Act 383.

These laws ensure women seeking an abortion have the right to change their minds during the 48-hour reflection period and that abortion facilities cannot make a woman feel financially obligated to go through with an abortion by charging her for everything upfront.

Most importantly, the state’s informed-consent law is saving lives.

Since 2015, more than 700 unborn children have been saved from abortion by this state law.

Giving women all the facts about abortion and its alternatives and providing them with enough time to consider their options empowers women to choose something besides abortion. Today more than 700 toddlers are alive in Arkansas because of Act 1086 and Act 383.

However, inspectors from the Arkansas Department of Health determined earlier this year that three abortion facilities violated provisions of Arkansas’ informed-consent law.

According to documents we obtained, on March 13, 2018, Planned Parenthood and Little Rock Family Planning Services received official statements from the Arkansas Department of Health citing the clinics for charging women for some of the procedures related to abortion — like the woman’s initial appointment at the abortion facility — before the end of the 48-hour reflection period.

Planned Parenthood’s clinics in Little Rock and Fayetteville perform chemical abortions while Little Rock Family Planning Services performs both chemical and surgical abortions.

The abortion facilities challenged the Health Department’s authority to cite the clinics. In their complaints filed with the State Board of Health, Planned Parenthood and Little Rock Family Planning Services argued that it is unconstitutional and unlawful to prohibit them from charging women before the end of the 48-hour reflection period. However, similar laws are on the books in Missouri.

After several months of procedural work, the State Board of Health declared this week that the Health Department was correct in issuing the Statement of Deficiencies against the abortion clinics, and that the clinics violated state law.

Aside from the fact that three abortion facilities were caught violating a very clear state law, all of this is significant in part because it could lead Arkansas to another big, pro-life victory in court. Planned Parenthood and Little Rock Family Planning Services have lost their fight with the State Board of Health. If they want to challenge the law now, they’ll have to take their case to court. Courts have generally upheld informed-consent laws like Arkansas’. If the abortion facilities decide to file a lawsuit to have part of Arkansas’ informed-consent law struck down, we could get yet another good, pro-life ruling.

Of course, if the abortion clinics decide not to challenge the law in court, that’s a victory as well, because that means the law will stay on the books and they will have to follow it.

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