The state Department of Health has ordered the only clinic in Arkansas that performs surgical abortions to stop doing so during the coronavirus pandemic, unless necessary to protect the life or health of the mother.
The agency wrote to Little Rock Family Planning Services on Friday.
The agency says the clinic violated an order issued this month ordering health providers to reschedule elective procedures that can be safely postponed. Before Friday, the department had stopped short of directly ordering the facility to halt or restrict abortions.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas says it is considering a legal challenge on the clinic’s behalf.
