Supporters of scaling back Arkansas abortion ban sue state for rejecting ballot measure petitions

Supporters of a proposal to scale back Arkansas’ abortion ban are suing the state for rejecting the petitions they submitted to get the measure on the November ballot. The lawsuit filed on Tuesday seeks to reverse the rejection by election officials. The state said organizers did comply with a law requiring paid signature gatherers to identify themselves and confirm they’ve been told the rules. The measure would have barred laws banning abortion in the first 20 weeks of gestation and allowed the procedure later in pregnancy in cases of rape, incest, threats to the woman’s health or life, or if the fetus would be unlikely to survive birth.