A lawsuit has been filed by four Arkansas women, including an OB-GYN, alleging that the state’s near-total abortion ban has blocked them from receiving necessary medical care, even in cases of miscarriage, sexual assault, and fetal anomalies.
Arkansas Abortion Ban Challenged in New Lawsuit
Emily Waldorf felt like “a ticking time bomb” while hospitalized in 2024, as she was miscarrying a wanted pregnancy. Hospital officials cited Arkansas’s abortion ban as preventing them from inducing labor to end the pregnancy, forcing her to wait and risk a deadly infection.
Waldorf’s sister contacted the office of Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, but an official reportedly told her to “find a lawyer.” Waldorf followed that advice, leading to the lawsuit filed Wednesday.
Two other plaintiffs, like Waldorf, were denied abortions despite their pregnancies having already ended. A third woman was unable to obtain an abortion after a sexual assault, as Arkansas does not permit abortions in cases of rape.
The lawsuit alleges that Arkansas’s abortion bans are “vague, confusing, and extremely dangerous,” questioning how pregnant individuals can access care given the state’s restrictions and those of surrounding states.
Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, numerous women have come forward with similar stories of being denied medically necessary abortions, leading to lawsuits seeking clarification of exceptions within state bans. Doctors have noted the exceptions are often too vague to be practical.
This lawsuit is the first filed by Amplify Legal, the litigation arm of Abortion in America, a reproductive rights group co-founded by the late Cecile Richards.
The suit argues the Arkansas abortion bans violate the state constitution’s guarantee of equality, life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and threaten lives, fertility, and economic wellbeing. It also claims the laws are unconstitutionally vague.
Sam Dubke, director of communications for Sanders’ office, stated in an email that Arkansas has been named the most pro-life state for six consecutive years, and that Sanders has invested in foster care, adoption, maternal health, and childhood wellbeing. Sanders intends to defend the state’s laws in court.
Waldorf was eventually transported to a hospital in Kansas, where an abortion was induced at 17 weeks. She delivered a baby who died shortly after birth, and named her Bee.
‘She Felt She Had No Choice’
Chelsea Stovall, another plaintiff, learned in late 2022 that her fetus had a congenital anomaly. She and her husband spent their savings traveling to Illinois for an abortion, where they were confronted by an anti-abortion protester who threw a bloody Maxi pad at their car.
Theresa Van, a third plaintiff, learned in 2023 that her fetus lacked sufficient amniotic fluid. Unable to obtain an abortion due to a detectable fetal heartbeat, she continued the pregnancy until the fetus died, resulting in a stillbirth. The lawsuit alleges she feared criminal prosecution for seeking care out of state.
Allison Howland, the fourth plaintiff, became pregnant in 2024 after being sexually assaulted. She initially continued the pregnancy hoping for DNA evidence, but police found little they could do. When she decided to seek an abortion in Illinois, a detective reportedly told her not to preserve the remains, as they couldn’t be used as evidence.
“I do not want to keep the product of this assault,” Howland said, according to the lawsuit. “Call that selfish but I stand by it. I was violated and put into extreme danger and living in a state like Arkansas – I was royally fucked.”
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