Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R – Branch)

Today Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R – Branch) and Rep. Spencer Hawks (R – Conway) filed S.B. 278 amending Arkansas’ requirements for abortion facilities and making improvements to the Born-Alive Infant Protection Act and the Woman’s Right to Know Act.

The bill contains several regulations for abortion clinics.

It requires abortion clinics to maintain a twenty-four-hour telephone line women can call if they experience complications from abortion. It also says abortion facilities must be located within 30 miles of a hospital with gynecological or surgical services, and it requires abortion facilities to adopt written procedures for transferring women who experience complications from abortion to an acute care facility.

These requirements will protect women from dangerous abortion practices.

The bill also makes important improvements to two of Arkansas’ existing pro-life laws: The Woman’s Right to Know Act and the Born Alive Infant Protection Act.

Currently, Arkansas law protects babies from being killed or left to die if they survive an abortion.

S.B. 278 requires doctors to file reports with the state any time a baby is born alive after an abortion. These reports will help us craft better pro-life laws in the future.

Arkansas’ Woman’s Right to Know Act requires abortionists to give women all the facts about abortion first — including abortion’s risks, consequences, and alternatives. Women must be given at least 48 hours to review this information and weight their options before having an abortion.

S.B. 278 extends this reflection period from 48 hours to 72 hours.

Since 2015, more than 700 unborn lives have been saved thanks to the Woman’s Right to Know Act. By giving women more time to choose an option besides abortion, S.B. 278 could save even more lives.

This is a good, pro-life bill that Family Council supports.

You can leave a message for your senator about this bill by calling the Arkansas Senate during normal business hours at (501) 682-2902.

You can read S.B. 278 here.