Arkansas health board approves regulations for abortion law

LITTLE ROCK — The Arkansas Board of Health has approved emergency regulations to implement a new state law dictating how fetal remains must be handled after an abortion.

The board decided Wednesday that abortion clinics won't be responsible for handling fetal tissue in medication abortions that happen outside of their clinics, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported.

The law passed by the Legislature this year will require clinics to ensure that fetal remains are handled in accordance to a 2009 state law. It's expected to go into effect in August.

"The way that law is written, it's not clear whether or not an abortion facility would be responsible for the fetal tissue that might be expelled away from the facility," Robert Brech, general counsel for the state Department of Health, told board members during a special meeting Wednesday.

Read more: http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/arkansas/story/2017/jul/21/arkansas-health-board-approves-regulations-abortion-law/683110/