A new bill would mandate reporting regarding assisted reproductive technology — like in vitro fertilization — in Arkansas.
H.B. 1554 by Rep. Alyssa Brown (R — Heber Springs) and Sen. Jim Dotson (R — Bentonville) establishes the Assisted Reproductive Technology Reporting Act in Arkansas.
The bill would require fertility clinics to track and report key data related to assisted reproductive technology. H.B. 1554 also would mandate annual reporting on embryo creation, usage, and outcomes, as well as tracking maternal and neonatal health for children conceived through ART.
All of this would help the Arkansas Department of Health better track assisted reproductive technology in the state.
Above: Former Sen. Jason Rapert and then-Rep. Kim Hammer unveil Arkansas’ monument commemorating the Ten Commandments in this file photo from 2018. Atheist organizations filed a lawsuit to have the monument removed, but the case has remained in limbo for nearly seven years.
As of this week, the lawsuit over Arkansas’ monument of the Ten Commandments has languished in court for six years and nine months — with no end in sight.
Act 1231 authorized placement of a privately funded monument of the Ten Commandments on the Arkansas Capitol Building grounds. Forty state legislators co-sponsored this good law, and some of them — including Kim Hammer, who now represents District 16 in the Arkansas Senate — still serve in the General Assembly.
The Ten Commandments monument — which is identical to one the U.S. Supreme Court ruled constitutional at the capitol building in Texas — was unveiled in 2018.
However, it did not take long for atheist groups like the Freedom From Religion Foundation and the Satanic Temple to file a lawsuit over the monument.
The case was filed May 23, 2018, and it originally was set to go to trial in July of 2020. But U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker postponed the trial due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, both sides in the lawsuit have asked Judge Baker to resolve the case, but the lawsuit has remained in limbo.
As we have said many times, there shouldn’t be anything controversial about a monument honoring the significance of the Ten Commandments.
Historians have long recognized the Ten Commandments as one of the earliest examples of the rule of law in human history, and they have helped shape philosophy and laws in countries around the world.
Arkansas’ monument simply commemorates that legacy. With that in mind, we believe our federal courts eventually will resolve this lawsuit and uphold Arkansas’ Ten Commandments monument as constitutional.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
