From the Associated Press and posted by our media partner at WOOD TV:
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A federal judge has blocked Arkansas from enforcing four new abortion restrictions, including a ban on a common second trimester procedure.
U.S. District Court Judge Kristine Baker issued a preliminary injunction late Friday night against the new abortion restrictions, three of which are set to take effect on Tuesday. The laws include a ban on a procedure known as dilation and evacuation. Abortion-rights supporters contend it’s the safest and most common procedure used in second-trimester abortions.
The American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights sued Arkansas over the restrictions, which lawmakers approved earlier this year. The groups say the laws would make it nearly impossible for many women in the state to get an abortion.