Appeals court upholds hold on Arkansas abortion laws

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A federal appeals court has kept on hold two Arkansas abortion restrictions. One bans abortions 18 weeks into a woman’s pregnancy. The other bans the procedure from being performed because the fetus has Down syndrome. The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday upheld a judge’s 2019 ruling temporarily blocking Arkansas from enforcing the laws. A judge in 2019 said the two measures unconstitutionally restrict abortion before the point of viability.