Arkansas Senate approves bill banning Down's syndrome abortions

The proposed law is similar to one in effect in North Dakota

Arkansas Senate approves Down's syndrome abortion ban (Stock)

The Arkansas Senate has approved a bill that prohibits doctors from performing abortions if a foetus has been diagnosed with Down's syndrome.

The bill was approved Wednesday by the Senate in a 29-2 vote, and prohibits doctors from performing the procedure if they know it is being sought solely because of the diagnosis, according to the Associated Press.

The measure, which will now head to the House, is the latest restriction on abortion in the state.

Prior to the vote, state Senator Breanne Davis gave an emotional presentation in which she discussed world Down's Syndrome Day, and her own daughter Everly, who was born with Down's syndrome.

The bill is similar to one in effect in North Dakota, which prohibits abortion for reasons related to genetic anomaly.

Last week, Arkansas passed legislation that bans most abortion after 18 weeks of pregnancy.

The state has also passed a “trigger law,” according to CBS News, which would make abortion illegal in the event that Roe v Wade is overturned.

Although the Supreme Court legalised abortion nationwide in 1973 with the landmark decision, the introduction of conservative justices on the Supreme Court has led some Republican-majority states to introduce trigger laws that would go into effect immediately.

In Arkansas, the fifth state to have a trigger law, Act 180 states abortion in Arkansas would be “abolished” and there would not be exceptions for rape or incest.