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Planned Parenthood Great Plains and Little Rock Family Planning File Lawsuit Challenging Newly Enacted Licensing Penalties 

For Immediate Release: June 20, 2017 (Updated: June 20, 2017, noon)


Little Rock, AR - Today, Planned Parenthood Great Plains (PPGP) and Little Rock Family Planning Services (LRFP) filed a lawsuit in federal court challenging HB1428, a discriminatory bill that singles out abortion providers for draconian penalties during the health center inspection and licensing process. The state of Arkansas now mandates the suspension of an abortion provider's license for any minor error found during an inspection, which is unlike how the state treats any other licensed health care center in the state. This TRAP (targeted restrictions against abortion providers) bill is an extreme and ideological attempt to make safe, legal abortion inaccessible for Arkansas women.

"Let's call HB1428 for what it really is - a political ploy to end abortion access in Arkansas. Abortion is already one of the most regulated medical services in the state and across the country, and PPGP and LRFP go above and beyond all medical standards to ensure our patients' health and safety. HB1428 sets up a minefield for abortion providers that no other medical professionals in Arkansas are forced to navigate, despite the fact that abortion is safer than almost every other medical procedure," Planned Parenthood Great Plains President and CEO, Laura McQuade said.

PPGP and LRFP's lawsuit coincides with a nationwide offensive against anti-choice legislation. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the ACLU of Arkansas filed a separate lawsuit today, also on behalf of LRFP, challenging four additional abortion restrictions passed this year in Arkansas, including a ban on the most common method of second trimester abortion. Like HB1428, these restrictions could impose significant, if not indefinite delays on a woman's ability to access safe and legal abortion. 

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