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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — A bill advancing through Arkansas’ Legislature would 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 Senate on Thursday approved the bill, which could be made moot by an outright abortion ban signed by the state’s governor earlier this month. That ban doesn’t include rape or incest exceptions, though opponents have vowed to block the law before it takes effect this summer.
Opponents of the reporting requirement say it could further traumatize rape and incest victims.
