Today Senator Gary Stubblefield and Rep. Charlene Fite filed S.B. 148 banning infanticide and creating protections for infants born alive following a botched abortion.
The bill requires doctors to provide food, water, and medical care to a newborn, thereby preventing babies from simply being left to die following birth. It also says a baby who survives an abortion must be provided immediate medical and emergency care.
Today the Arkansas Legislature’s House Public Health Committee passed H.B. 1032, a bill effectively banning D&E and sharp curettage abortion procedures.
These procedures involve the dismemberment of a living, unborn baby. Based on reports published by the Arkansas Department of Health, approximately 1,200 abortions have been performed via these methods in the past couple of years.
The bill is sponsored by Rep. Andy Mayberry (R-Hensley). It’s a good, pro-life bill that will reduce the number of abortions performed in Arkansas.
From here, H.B. 1032 goes before the entire Arkansas House of Representatives for a vote.
H.B. 1208 filed today by Rep. Mark Lowery (R-Maumelle) would let home schooled and private school students enroll in classes at their local public schools.
This actually is not a new concept; in fact, some public schools in Arkansas have let home schoolers enroll in public school courses for a number of years.
Currently, executive memos from the Arkansas Department of Education along with rules and regulations from the State Board of Education have allowed home schoolers to enroll in some public school courses. In return, public schools receive additional funding from the state.
H.B. 1208 codifies that practice by writing it into state law, and it expands it to include private school students.
This means a home schooler who wants to take, for example, a more advanced math or science course–such trigonometry or physics–may be able to do so through his or her local public school. Likewise, if a private school student wants to take a course that is not offered at his or her school–such as a certain foreign language–taking that course from the local public school may be an option.
It’s important to note H.B. 1208 does not require public schools to open their doors to home schoolers; the program is optional for all school districts, but schools who participate will receive additional public funding from the state.
H.B. 1208 gives families throughout Arkansas more flexibility in helping their children receive the best education possible. That’s a good thing.