The Arkansas Senate on Thursday voted to require victims of rape and incest to have first reported the crime to law enforcement before they could undergo an abortion past the state's 20-week limit.
The move, however, could be moot if an outright abortion ban Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed into law a little over a week ago moves forward. Abortion rights supporters have vowed to challenge that ban, which doesn't include rape or incest exemptions, before it takes effect later this summer.
It also comes as the state is defending an 18-week abortion ban put on hold by the courts that does include those exceptions.
The bill approved on a 26-6 vote Thursday would add the reporting requirement to all of the state's abortion cutoffs, including ones blocked by the courts, that allow the procedure in cases of rape and incest. Abortion providers would be required to report to the state the number of procedures performed because of rape or incest.
Opponents of the requirement said it will further victimize women, considering the high number of rapes that aren't reported to police. About three out of four rapes and sexual assaults are not reported to law enforcement, according to the Justice Department.
“Obviously every woman who goes through that experience is suffering from horrible trauma at that time and for the rest of her life, and in my judgment this bill only adds to that trauma,” Democratic Sen. Clarke Tucker said before the vote.
Supporters of the bill said the requirement will help the state have better data on how many abortions are performed because of rape and incest, especially as the state defends its outright. Abortion rights groups have said they plan to sue to block that ban before it takes effect later this summer.
“It's also valuable that the assailants can be brought to justice, and that reporting is very important," Republican Sen. Blake Johnson, the bill's sponsor, said before the vote.
Hutchinson signed the abortion ban earlier this month, despite expressing concerns about it not including rape and incest exceptions
The bill approved Thursday now heads to the majority-Republican House.
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Richard “Dick” Codey, a former acting governor of New Jersey and the longest serving legislator in the state's history, died Sunday. He was 79.
Codey’s wife, Mary Jo Codey, confirmed her husband’s death to The Associated Press.
“Gov. Richard J. Codey passed away peacefully this morning at home, surrounded by family, after a brief illness,” Codey's family wrote in a Facebook post on Codey's official page.
"Our family has lost a beloved husband, father and grandfather -- and New Jersey lost a remarkable public servant who touched the lives of all who knew him," the family said.
Known for his feisty, regular-guy persona, Codey was a staunch advocate of mental health awareness and care issues. The Democrat also championed legislation to ban smoking from indoor areas and sought more money for stem cell research.
Codey, the son of a northern New Jersey funeral home owner, entered the state Assembly in 1974 and served there until he was elected to the state Senate in 1982. He served as Senate president from 2002 to 2010.
Codey first served as acting governor for a brief time in 2002, after Christine Todd Whitman’s resignation to join President George W. Bush’s administration. He held the post again for 14 months after Gov. Jim McGreevey resigned in 2004.
At that time, New Jersey law mandated that the Senate president assume the governor’s role if a vacancy occurred, and that person would serve until the next election.
Codey routinely drew strong praise from residents in polls, and he gave serious consideration to seeking the Democratic nomination for governor in 2005. But he ultimately chose not to run when party leaders opted to back wealthy Wall Street executive Jon Corzine, who went on to win the office.
Codey would again become acting governor after Corzine was incapacitated in April 2007 due to serious injuries he suffered in a car accident. He held the post for nearly a month before Corzine resumed his duties.
After leaving the governor’s office, Codey returned to the Senate and also published a memoir that detailed his decades of public service, along with stories about his personal and family life.
“He lived his life with humility, compassion and a deep sense of responsibility to others,” his family wrote. “He made friends as easily with Presidents as he did with strangers in all-night diners.”
Codey and his wife often spoke candidly about her past struggles with postpartum depression, and that led to controversy in early 2005, when a talk radio host jokingly criticized Mary Jo and her mental health on the air.
Codey, who was at the radio station for something else, confronted the host and said he told him that he wished he could “take him outside.” But the host claimed Codey actually threatened to “take him out,” which Codey denied.
His wife told The Associated Press that Codey was willing to support her speaking out about postpartum depression, even if it cost him elected office.
“He was a really, really good guy,” Mary Jo Codey said. “He said, ‘If you want to do it, I don’t care if I get elected again.’”
Jack Brook contributed reporting from New Orleans.
FILE - New Jersey State Sen. and former Democratic Gov. Richard Codey is seen before New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the Legislature at the statehouse, in Trenton, N.J., Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2023. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
