Activists say a new law in the southern US state of Arkansas that severely restricts Women's Reproductive Rights is unconstitutional and likely will not withstand a legal challenge.

"There is zero part of me that understands why a rapist or someone who got someone pregnant against their will, maybe incest, would have any right in that decision," said Karen Musick, co-founder of Arkansas Abortion Support Network.  "I cannot wrap my brain around the fact that there would be anyone who thinks otherwise."

The law allows husbands to file civil lawsuits to stop the abortion - even if the fetus is conceived through spousal rape.  The woman's parents or legal guardians can also sue to stop the abortion, if she is a minor.  And once again, the law makes no accomodations for minors who are impregnated through incest.

"They created a whole new right - the right of a husband or family member to sue a doctor on behalf of an adult patient," said Holly Dickson, legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Arkansas, which plans to challenge the abortion law in court before it goes into effect later this year.  "I cannot begin to tell you what the intent was, but we have raised concerns about that provision and the entire rest of the bill, which is unconstitutional," she added.

Aside from giving family members control over a woman's body, Arkansas Act 45 also outlaws the safest way for women to end their pregnancies after 14 weeks of gestation, according to the American Medical Association.  It specifically prohibits all dilation and evacuation (D&E) procedures, in which the physician removes the foetus from the womb with surgical tools.  Such procedures accounted for 683 of Arkansas's 3,771 abortions in 2015.  If the law isn't stopped, D&E will become a felony that could result in a US$10,000 fine or six years in prison for doctors.