Arkansas governor says abortion exceptions for rape, incest, life of mother ‘could be revisited’ in state ban

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) on Sunday said exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother “could be revisited” in the state’s abortion ban, which would take effect if Roe v. Wade is overturned.

Hutchinson signed a bill in February 2019 that called for banning abortion in the state if the Supreme Court overturns the 1973 decision in Roe v. Wade, which protects access to the medical procedure on the federal level. The measure in Arkansas, however, does not allow exceptions for cases of rape and incest, or if the life of the mother is in danger.

Hutchinson has said he wanted those exceptions to be included in the law, and on Sunday he noted that they could be revisited.

“While it’s still life in the womb, life of the unborn, it was, the conception was under criminal circumstances, either incest or rape, and so those are two exceptions I recognize, I believe are very appropriate, and what will happen as time goes on if Roe versus Wade is reversed, these are gonna become very real circumstances I think the debate and discussion will be, will continue and that very well could be revisited,” he told co-anchor Dana Bash on CNN’s “State of the Union.”

Hutchinson on Sunday confirmed that Arkansas’s abortion ban would take effect if Roe v. Wade is reversed.

Abortion ban trigger laws throughout the country have come under increased scrutiny in recent weeks after a leaked draft opinion showed the Supreme Court poised to overturn Roe v. Wade.

The Supreme Court said that while the document, reported by Politico, was authentic, it did not reflect the final decision from the bench.

Democrats and abortion rights advocates are now scrambling to safeguard access to abortion in preparation for Roe v. Wade’s potential reversal.