Arkansas Senate Passes Bill to Protect Women and Children from Abortion Drugs

Abortion, , , ,

On Wednesday the Arkansas Senate passed a good bill clarifying that abortion by fraud is a crime in Arkansas.

Right now abortion in Arkansas is generally prohibited except to save the life of the mother, and it is illegal to deliver abortion-inducing drugs into the state. Arkansas also has laws prohibiting fetal homicide.

However, Arkansas has no specific law addressing situations in which a person secretly gives abortion drugs like RU-486 to a pregnant woman.

H.B. 1551 by Rep. Jimmy Gazaway (R — Paragould) makes it a felony to try to kill an unborn child by secretly giving a pregnant woman abortion-inducing drugs without her knowledge or consent.

In 2022 abortion drugs were secretly placed in Catherine Herring’s water in order to cause the death of her unborn child.

Ms. Herring suffered serious health complications and had to be hospitalized as a result. Since then, states have begun proposing laws like H.B. 1551 to prevent this type of crime.

H.B. 1551 is a good bill that will help protect women and unborn children from dangerous abortion drugs. It passed the Arkansas House and Arkansas Senate without a single lawmaker voting against it. The bill now goes to the governor to be signed into law.

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

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Arkansas House Passes Bill to Address Deceptive, Misleading Ballot Measures

Legislation,

On Wednesday the Arkansas House of Representatives passed a measure to help clarify state law concerning deceptively worded ballot measures.

The Arkansas Constitution lets canvassers circulate petitions to place measures on a general election ballot. Its original intent was to give citizens a way to function as a “legislative body.” Unfortunately, powerful special interests have used the initiative process to put flawed, misleading, and deceptive measures on the ballot in Arkansas.

H.B. 1713 by Rep. Ryan Rose (R — Van Buren) and Sen. Mark Johnson (R — Little Rock) requires ballot initiative titles to be written at or below an eighth grade reading level.

A ballot title is supposed to accurately summarize a measure so voters can decide if they support or oppose it. If a ballot title is misleading, complicated, or poorly written, voters may not understand what a measure would do.

H.B. 1713 is similar to legislation enacted in other states to help make sure ballot titles are easy for voters to read and understand. This will help address deceptive or misleading ballot initiatives in Arkansas.

Arkansas’ ballot initiative process has become the opposite of what it was intended to be, and if lawmakers do not act soon, the problem is simply going to get worse.

H.B. 1713 now goes to the Arkansas Senate for consideration.

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

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Senate Committee Advances Bill to Protect Physical Privacy, Safety in Arkansas

Legislation,

On Thursday, the Senate State Agencies Committee passed S.B. 486 by Sen. Blake Johnson (R — Corning) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R — Perryville).

This good bill protects physical privacy and safety of Arkansans in showers, locker rooms, changing rooms, restrooms, and sleeping quarters in government buildings and in state and local jails.

The bill also applies to changing rooms, restrooms, and sleeping quarters in shelters for victims of domestic violence.

S.B. 486 is similar to a law Arkansas passed in 2023 to protect privacy in public schools and on overnight school trips.

The bill would require the facilities named in the bill to be designated for “male” or “female” use. The measure generally requires people to use the facility that corresponds to their biological sex.

Over the years, we have seen efforts to house men with women in jails, let men stay in women’s shelters, and give men access to women’s changing areas, locker rooms, showers, and restrooms.

S.B. 486 is common sense legislation narrowly tailored to protect physical privacy and safety in public buildings and shelters in Arkansas.

The bill now goes to the entire Arkansas Senate for consideration.

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

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