Abortion – Family Council

Arkansas Legislature Passes Another Good Pro-Life Law

Apr 17, 2025Jerry CoxAbortionAbortion, Arkansas Legislature, Life, Pro-life, Sanctity of Human Life

On Wednesday the Arkansas House of Representatives passed a good law to prohibit certain abortions if Arkansas’ pro-life laws ever change.

Since 2022, abortion in Arkansas has been prohibited except to save the life of the mother. This year the Arkansas Legislature passed a law clarifying and closing possible loopholes in the state’s pro-life laws.

Before the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade, Arkansas enacted dozens of different laws restricting and prohibiting abortion — including laws protecting unborn children from being aborted because of their sex or because they may be at risk for Down Syndrome. Technically, those good laws are still on the books, and they could be enforced if a federal court ever blocked Arkansas’ laws that generally prohibit abortion.

S.B. 591 by Sen. Clint Penzo (R — Springdale) and Rep. Karilyn Brown (R — Sherwood) would prohibit abortions performed due to the unborn baby’s race if Arkansas’ pro-life laws are ever amended or struck down.

Family Council was very pleased to work with our friends in the legislature to secure passage of S.B. 591. The Arkansas House and Senate both voted overwhelmingly for this good law. We appreciate lawmakers’ continued dedication to upholding the sanctity and dignity of human life.

The Following Representatives Voted For S.B. 591

Andrews
Barker
Beaty Jr.
Beck
Bentley
Brooks
A. Brown
K. Brown
M. Brown
N. Burkes
R. Burkes
John Carr
Cavenaugh
Childress
C. Cooper
Cozart
Crawford
Duffield
Duke
Furman
Gazaway
Gramlich
Hawk
Holcomb
Hollowell
L. Johnson
Ladyman
Long
Lundstrum
Lynch
Maddox
J. Mayberry
McAlindon
McClure
McCollum
B. McKenzie
McNair
S. Meeks
Milligan
J. Moore
K. Moore
Nazarenko
Painter
Pearce
Pilkington
Puryear
Ray
Richmond
Rose
Rye
Schulz
R. Scott Richardson
M. Shepherd
Steimel
Torres
Tosh
Underwood
Unger
Vaught
Walker
Wing
Womack
Wooldridge

The Following Representatives Voted Against S.B. 591

F. Allen
Barnett
Clowney
A. Collins
Ennett
K. Ferguson
D. Garner
Hudson
McCullough
McGruder
Perry
J. Richardson
T. Shephard
Springer
Steele
D. Whitaker
Gonzales Worthen

The Following Representatives Voted “Present”

Joey Carr
Eaves
McGrew
Wooten

The Following Representatives Did Not Vote

Achor
Barnes
S. Berry
Breaux
Dalby
Eaton
Eubanks
Gonzales
Hall
Henley
Jean
Magie
M. McElroy
Wardlaw
Warren
Speaker Evans

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

Arkansas Lawmakers Earmark $2M for Moms in Need

Apr 16, 2025Jerry CoxAbortionAbortion, Arkansas Legislature, Life, Pro-life, Sanctity of Human Life

On Tuesday the Arkansas Legislature passed a measure budgeting $2 million for grant funding to charities that help women with unplanned pregnancies.

H.B. 1202 by the legislature’s Joint Budget Committee allocates funds for various state programs, grants, and administrative needs in Arkansas’ upcoming 2025-2026 budget cycle.

H.B. 1202 includes $2 million in funding for grants to pregnancy help organizations.

Under H.B. 1202, grant money can go to pregnancy resource centers, maternity homes, adoption agencies, and other charitable organizations that provide material support to women with unplanned pregnancies.

The State of Arkansas also can award funding to charities that promote infant and maternal wellness and reduce infant and maternal mortality by:

Providing nutritional information and/or nutritional counseling;
Providing prenatal vitamins;
Providing a list of prenatal medical care options;
Providing social, emotional, and/or material support; or
Providing referrals for WIC and community-based nutritional services, including food banks, food pantries, and food distribution centers.

The measure makes it clear that grant money will not go to abortionists or their affiliates.

Since 2022 Family Council has worked with the Arkansas Legislature and the governor to secure funding every year for pregnancy resource centers. These state-funded grants have helped support dozens of charities that assist women and children in Arkansas.

The grants are optional. Pregnancy resource centers are not required to accept public tax dollars if they do not want to. But for those who do receive grant money, the funding may make a tremendous difference.

Pro-lifers in Arkansas have worked hard to prohibit abortion. We need to work to make abortion irrelevant and unthinkable as well. Supporting pregnancy resource centers is one way we can do that.

Pregnancy resource centers give women real options besides abortion — making it less likely they will travel out of state for abortion or order illegal abortion drugs online.

Passage of H.B. 1202 means Arkansas will be able to continue providing real support to women and families. That is something to celebrate!

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

Arkansas Senate Passes Bill to Prohibit Race-Selection Abortion if Pro-Life Laws Ever Change

Apr 11, 2025Jerry CoxAbortionAbortion, Arkansas Legislature, Life, Pro-life, Sanctity of Human Life

On Wednesday night the Arkansas Senate passed a bill that would prohibit certain abortions if Arkansas’ pro-life laws ever change.

Before the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overturning Roe v. Wade, Arkansas passed dozens of different laws restricting and prohibiting abortion — including laws protecting unborn children from being aborted because of their sex or because they may be at risk for Down Syndrome. Technically, those good laws are still on the books, and they could be enforced if a federal court ever blocked Arkansas’ laws that generally prohibit abortion.

The Arkansas Senate voted overwhelmingly for this good law on Wednesday. S.B. 591 now goes to the Arkansas House of Representatives for consideration.