Representative Ann Clemmer
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) -- History was made in the Arkansas Legislature this week. Abortions in Arkansas will be illegal after 12 weeks of pregnancy; it is now the strictest abortion law in the country.
On Wednesday, Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel weighed in on the inevitable legal battle.
"I began preparing for litigation for these bills the day they were filed. My job is to defend the acts of the General Assembly," McDaniel said.
He thinks the matter will not reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
"There would have to be some really novel question for either of these to go the [U.S.] Supreme Court, and at this point, I don't think there are any novel questions," Attorney General McDaniel said.
Representative Ann Clemmer, R-Benton, spoke on the House floor in favor of the override of the Governor's veto Wednesday.
"If I say that I am pro-life, at some point I have to do something about what I say I believe," Representative Clemmer said.
Rita Sklar is the Executive Director of the American Civil Liberties Union in Arkansas, and said the ACLU will fight.
"We're going to federal court. We'll start in federal district court, and we should be ready to go in a couple of weeks," Sklar said.
McDaniel added that lawmakers' input could be vital in any court action. Some may have outside council to aide in a lawsuit.
"I want them to feel as if they have some influence in the process. Obviously they have invested themselves heavily in these acts during the course of the session, and they know because I have told them that there are serious constitutional challenges coming," Attorney General McDaniel said.
He advised Governor Beebe before his veto, and Senator Jason Rapert, R-Conway, before the bill passed about the potential legal challenges.
McDaniel said he must put his personal feelings aside in this matter and defend any measure legislators pass into law.
Under federal law, abortions can be performed up to the time the fetus can survive outside of the womb, typically between 24 to 26 weeks of pregnancy.