The Arkansas Attorney General’s Office has asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit challenging the state’s near-total abortion ban. State lawyers filed a motion Wednesday arguing the case should be thrown out before evidence is presented. Oral arguments on the matter are scheduled for next week.
The legal battle centers on the experience of Emily Waldorf of Fayetteville. In September 2024, doctors at Washington Regional Medical Center refused to perform an emergency abortion after she began to hemorrhage. Waldorf was 17 weeks pregnant with her second child, a much-wanted pregnancy.
Waldorf was diagnosed with cervical insufficiency. According to the lawsuit filed in February, doctors found her amniotic sac and her baby’s foot protruding from her uterus when she complained of bleeding and abdominal pressure. She was at risk of a life-threatening infection.
Under Arkansas statute, providers are prohibited from performing abortions if the unborn child is “capable of sustaining life outside the womb.” The hospital administration invoked pharmacy protocols rather than providing medical care. Doctors informed Waldorf she would lose the pregnancy but said they were legally unable to induce labor while the fetus still had a heartbeat.
Three days after the initial refusal, her water broke. The legal landscape at that moment meant pregnancy loss was inevitable, but medical providers were blocked from intervening to accelerate the delivery or prevent sepsis.
When Waldorf’s friend learned of the rejection of care, she contacted attorney Molly Duane. Duane, a legal counsel for the plaintiffs, attempted to intervene with hospital leadership. She was unable to sway the hospital administration to change its course.
The lawsuit explicitly challenges two aspects of the policy. First, it argues the hospital board of directors acted unconstitutionally by using pharmacy protocols to effectively ban abortions without following protocols used for other medical procedures. Second, the plaintiffs claim Arkansas law lacks a proper exception for preserving the life of the mother.
The state’s motion to dismiss argues that the Arkansas Constitution does not protect the right to an abortion. Additionally, lawyers for the state assert the existing statutes regulating interstate commerce and patient care provide the necessary framework for hospital boards to operate, negating the need for a separate abortion policy.
The outcome of this hearing will set the stage for how the state defends its abortion restrictions in federal court. Attorneys for the plaintiffs argue that
Source: NWA Democrat Gazette