Arkansas Becomes 5th State to Make Abortion Illegal if Roe v. Wade Is Reversed

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed a bill into law Wednesday that will make abortion automatically illegal in the state should Roe v. Wade be reversed or the U.S. Constitution is amended to permit states to ban the procedure.

Arkansas state Sen. Jason Rapert, who sponsored the legislation, called the signing of the bill into law a “proud day for Life in our state”:

The Guttmacher Institute notes the new law makes Arkansas the fifth state to ban abortion should states be permitted once again to prohibit the procedure. Louisiana, Mississippi, North Dakota, and South Dakota already have similar laws.

The governor, a Republican, signed the Human Life Protection Act into law, which states the U.S. Supreme Court committed a “crime against humanity” that is “perpetuated by their decisions in Roe v. Wade, Doe v. Bolton, and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.”

“A crime against humanity occurs when a government withdraws legal protection from a class of human beings resulting in severe deprivation of their rights, up to and including death,” the legislation continues.

If the law is triggered, abortionists who violate it would face a fine of up to $100,000 and/or ten years in prison.

According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, following an intense debate on the bill in the state Senate, Rapert ended by observing that the late Norma McCorvey — who was known as “Jane Roe” in the landmark Supreme Court case — never actually had an abortion, but placed her baby for adoption prior to the high court’s ruling. McCorvey later became a pro-life activist.

Pro-life media LifeNews tweeted Monday on the second anniversary of Norma McCorvey’s death:

“Some people don’t know that Norma McCorvey never had an abortion. Ever,” Rapert said. “And here we are using her name and her story to continue a culture of death.”