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LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Arkansas lawmakers gave final approval Tuesday to new restrictions on the way the abortion pill is administered in the state, a move that the top Democrat in the Senate said sets a dangerous precedent of interfering with doctors' work.
The bill approved by the state Senate on a 26-5 vote would override doctors and require abortion pill providers to follow guidelines set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It would require women take a higher dose of the medication than what is typically prescribed and restrict the time period for administering it from up to nine weeks to up to seven weeks.
The measure, which now heads to Gov. Asa Hutchinson's desk, would also bar non-federally approved uses of the drug, a practice commonly referred to as off-label.
"This bill protects women from dangerous and potentially deadly off label uses of the abortion drug," Republican Sen. Linda Collins-Smith of Pocahontas told lawmakers before the vote. "The bill in no way restricts the availability of abortions."
Senate Minority Leader Keith Ingram criticized the restriction and questioned why the Legislature would dictate the dosage and regimen for abortion-inducing medication, but not for other drugs.
"We're getting into some choppy waters here when we mandate what a doctor can and can't do when prescribing medicine to his patients," said Ingram, a Democrat from West Memphis.
Five of the Senate's 11 Democrats voted against the measure, while four supported it.
The proposal is among several abortion restrictions easily gaining support in the Legislature after Republicans expanded their majority in both chambers and won the governor's office.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson last month signed into law a measure banning the use of video conferencing to administer the abortion pill. A House panel earlier Tuesday advanced legislation adding restrictions to the state law requiring parental consent before a minor can have an abortion in most instances. The House could take up that measure as early as Wednesday.
A spokesman said Hutchinson was reviewing the language of the proposed abortion pill restrictions.
"The governor is a strong advocate for life but he would like to take the time to read the final language of the bill as with any other measure," spokesman J.R. Davis said in an email.
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