PRESS RELEASE

LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge joined a 21-state amicus brief in support of South Carolina’s Fetal Heartbeat and Protection from Abortion Act. The law was blocked by a federal district court in February.

“Science and medicine have advanced significantly since the U.S. Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade almost five decades ago,” said Attorney General Leslie Rutledge. “We are on the precipice of a tremendous opportunity to save many precious lives, and I will continue to lead this fight.”

The brief in support of South Carolina’s heartbeat law was filed before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in the case of Planned Parenthood South Atlantic v. Wilson. Under the South Carolina law, abortions are generally prohibited once a fetal heartbeat is detected. The law also requires abortion providers to give the mother an opportunity to have an ultrasound, view the sonogram, hear the heartbeat and receive other information about her unborn child.

Attorney General Rutledge signed the brief along with attorneys general from Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.