A federal judge has rejected Arkansas' attempt to dismiss a lawsuit challenging a new state law banning most abortions 12 weeks into a pregnancy.
U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright on Wednesday denied the state's motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas and the Center for Reproductive Rights.
The groups have sued the state on behalf of two doctors who provide abortions at a Little Rock clinic.
The state had argued that the doctors didn't have standing to challenge the law since it's not being enforced yet.
Wright rejected that argument, writing that the doctors have demonstrated a realistic danger of direct injury from the law's enforcement.
A hearing is scheduled Friday on the groups' request for a preliminary injunction against the ban.