Despite Summer Heat, Pro-Lifers Active Against Arkansas Abortion Amendment

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Above: Pro-lifers in central Arkansas encourage voters not to sign the abortion amendment petition. Photo credit: Facebook.

Pro-lifers across Arkansas have been extremely active against an effort to write abortion into the state constitution.

Arkansans for Limited Government has until the end of the day Friday to submit 90,704 valid petition signatures to place the Arkansas Abortion Amendment on the ballot.

The measure would prevent the State of Arkansas from restricting abortion during the first five months of pregnancy, allowing thousands of elective abortions every year.

The amendment does not contain any medical licensing or health and safety standards for abortion, and it automatically nullifies all state laws that conflict with the amendment. That jeopardizes even the most basic restrictions on abortion.

The measure contains sweeping exceptions that would permit abortion through all nine months of pregnancy in many cases.

The amendment also would pave the way for publicly funded abortion in Arkansas by changing Amendment 68 to the Arkansas Constitution that currently prohibits taxpayer funded abortion in the state.

Canvassers have been collecting signatures in nearly every county around the state, but pro-lifers have worked against the petition effort as well.

For example, in central Arkansas, pro-lifers prayed with individuals and talked to people about what the abortion amendment would do.

In Logan County, churches have displayed “Decline to Sign” posters in their communities.

In Sevier County, Calhoun County, and elsewhere, volunteers have publicly encouraged voters not to sign the abortion petition.

To date, multiple groups and organizations have come out against the abortion amendment, including:

  • The Arkansas House of Representatives
  • Arkansas Right to Life
  • Family Council Action Committee
  • Choose Life Arkansas
  • NWA Coalition for Life
  • The Arkansas Committee For Ethics Policy
  • The Catholic Diocese of Little Rock
  • Saline Decline to Sign
  • Stronger Arkansas
  • Stop Abortion On Demand
  • Students for Life of America

You can download a copy of the Arkansas Abortion Amendment here.

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

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Abortion Amendment Canvassers are Especially Targeting These 28 Counties

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The following is an email alert from Family Council Action Committee.

Canvassers for the abortion amendment are working intensely across the state in the final stages of their petition drive.

Arkansans for Limited Government has until Friday to collect 90,704 valid petition signatures to place the Arkansas Abortion Amendment on the ballot.

Family Council Action Committee believes there are canvassers collecting signatures in nearly every county around the state. But pro-abortion strike teams traveling around Arkansas seem particularly focused on these 28 counties:

  • Ashley
  • Benton
  • Boone
  • Bradley
  • Calhoun
  • Clay
  • Cleveland
  • Crawford
  • Crittenden
  • Cross
  • Dallas
  • Fulton
  • Grant
  • Izard
  • Little River
  • Perry
  • Pike
  • Pulaski
  • Prairie
  • Randolph
  • Scott
  • Sevier
  • Van Buren
  • Logan
  • Searcy
  • Washington
  • White
  • Yell

If you see petition canvassers collecting signatures on private property, such as store parking lots, notify the property owner immediately. Our team is aware of situations where petition canvassers have tried to collect signatures on private property without getting permission from the property owners first.

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin has said petition canvassing should only be conducted with permission from the property owner.

Look for canvassers in your community, and ask others to be on the lookout too. Some counties have developed a network of pro-lifers who are watching for pro-abortion canvassers. As soon as they are spotted, they take action by calling the business or standing near the canvasser to urge people not to sign the petition.

Look for canvasser at your local Independence Day celebrations such as fireworks shows.  Pro-abortion canvassers have a right to get signatures on public property. You and other pro-life individuals have a right to be right there as well, urging people not to sign the petition. You have a right to walk alongside them if they are getting signatures in a crowd of people.

Family Council Action Committee is among the many groups encouraging Arkansans to Decline to Sign the abortion petition. You can learn more at FamilyCouncilActionCommittee.com.

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Arkansas Finishes Awarding $1M to Pregnancy Help Organizations for FY 2024

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Last month the State of Arkansas finished awarding one million dollars to charities that support women and families with unplanned pregnancies.

Act 622 of 2023 by Sen. Scott Flippo (R – Bull Shoals) and Rep. Lane Jean (R – Magnolia) authorized $1 million in state-funded grants for crisis pregnancy centers, maternity homes, adoption agencies, and social services agencies that provide material support to women with unplanned pregnancies.

This grant funding provides women and families with pro-life alternatives to abortion.

The measure directed the Department of Finance and Administration to distribute the state-funded grants to these pregnancy help organizations by June 30, 2024.

As of June 30, the State of Arkansas successfully distributed $999,999.77 to pregnancy help organizations for Fiscal Year 2024.

This money will help families, and it will have a tremendous, pro-life impact across the state.

Now that abortion is prohibited in Arkansas except to save the life of the mother, we need to support women and families and eliminate the demand for abortion. This grant funding  does that. It provides women in Arkansas with actual pro-life options — meaning they are less likely to travel out of state for abortion.

In April, Governor Sanders signed a budget measure providing $2 million to support pregnancy help organizations and maternal and infant wellness in Arkansas for the state’s 2025 fiscal year — which began on Monday.

Besides increasing the grant funding from $1 million to $2 million, the new and improved budget measure also clarifies that “pregnancy help organizations” include nonprofit organizations 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 but not limited to food banks, food pantries, and food distribution centers.

The measure includes language preventing state funds from going to abortionists and their affiliates.

The funding will provide additional grants to pregnancy resource centers, maternity homes, adoption agencies, and other organizations that provide material support to women with unplanned pregnancies in the coming months.

This is something all Arkansans should be proud of. Family Council is grateful to the General Assembly and Governor Sanders for supporting pro-life charities that serve women and families in Arkansas.

Below is a list of pregnancy help organizations that received grant funding in fiscal year 2024.

Resource CenterDoing Business AsGrant Amount
INFORMED CHOICES WOMENS CENTER OF THE OZ$73,246.90
NEW BEGINNINGS PREGNANCY CENTER$49,009.95
PATHWAY RESOURCE CENTER$41,239.95
ST BERNARDS HOSPITAL DEVELOPMENT FOUNDAT$41,039.95
HOPEPLACE – FORDYCE$41,039.95
HOPEPLACE NEWPORT$41,039.95
CRADLE THE MATERNITY SUPPORT CENTER OF CKATHLEEN BLOSSOM$41,039.95
PLUM FOUNDATIONPEACE LOVE UNDERSTANDING MERCY$41,039.95
ABBA CHARITIES INC$41,039.95
COMPASSION MINISTRIES LTD$41,039.95
OPEN ARMS PREGNANCY CENTER INC$41,039.95
ST FRANCIS HOUSE NWA INCCOMMUNITY CLINIC$41,039.95
ST JOSEPHS HELPERS OF PULASKI COUNTYARKANSAS PREGNANCY RESOURCE CENTER$41,039.95
PREGNANCY HELP CENTERPREGNANCY HELP CLINIC$40,995.95
PREGNANCY RESOURCE CENTER FOR SOUTHWEST$40,958.95
CRISIS PREGNANCY CENTER OF CENTRAL ARKANCARING HEARTS PREGNANCY CENTER$40,501.95
BAPTIST HEALTH FOUNDATION$40,039.95
SOUTH ARKANSAS CARING PREGNANCY CENTERHANNAH PREGNANCY RESOURCE CENTER$38,078.95
HEART TO HEART PREGNANCY SUPPORT CENTER$38,035.46
CHANGEPOINT PREGNANCY CARE AND PARENTING$34,714.95
HOPEPLACE MONTICELLO$34,532.95
HOPE OF THE DELTA CENTER$32,904.51
ARKANSAS BAPTIST CHILDRENS HOMES AND FAMLIVING WELL COUNSELING$24,891.45
FORT SMITH CHRISTIAN FAMILY SERVICES INC1ST CHOICE PREGNANCY MEDICAL CENTER$24,810.45
LIFES CHOICE PREGNANCY CARE CENTER$24,380.00
HOPES FIRST CHOICE PREGNANCY RESOURCE CE$11,257.95
Total$999,999.77

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

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