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Arkansas Women Now Face Investigations to Get Abortions

On Wednesday, Governor Asa Hutchinson signed into law a bill ostensibly designed to prevent what’s called "sex-selection abortions."

Trying to get an abortion in Arkansas? Bring your medical history.

On Wednesday, Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed into law a bill ostensibly designed to prevent what's called "sex-selection abortions," when parents choose to abort a fetus because it's not the sex they prefer. However, buried in that law is one important claus: Doctors must demand partial medical histories from women seeking abortions.

Before performing the procedure, Arkansas doctors are now required to ask pregnant women if they know their fetus's gender. If a woman says yes, the doctor must then request the woman's medical history "relating directly to the entire pregnancy history of the woman." And then that woman can't get an abortion until "reasonable time and effort is spent" trying to obtain her history.

Arkansas is the first state to require such an investigation, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights.

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