On Monday, the group working to write abortion into the Arkansas Constitution asked the state supreme court not to dismiss a lawsuit the organization filed against the Secretary of State.
On July 5, Arkansans for Limited Government submitted some 101,525 petition signatures to place the Arkansas Abortion Amendment on the ballot. However, Secretary of State John Thurston disqualified every petition signature, because Arkansans for Limited Government failed to provide affidavits from the measure’s sponsor as required by state law.
Arkansans for Limited Government filed a lawsuit, claiming Secretary of State Thurston unlawfully rejected its petitions. The group has asked the Arkansas Supreme Court to order the Secretary of State to count the petition signatures.
Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin has asked the state supreme court to dismiss the lawsuit and let the Secretary of State’s rejection of the petition remain in effect.
On Monday, attorneys for Arkansans for Limited Government responded to the A.G.’s motion, arguing that failing to file the sponsor affidavit should not disqualify the petitions, and saying that the group met the Secretary of State’s requirements.
Ultimately, it is up to the Arkansas Supreme Court to decide if it will dismiss the case or allow the lawsuit to proceed.
Legal experts have pointed out the abortion amendment would prevent the State of Arkansas from restricting abortion during the first five months of pregnancy — which is more extreme than Roe v. Wade — and would allow thousands of elective abortions on healthy women and unborn children every year.
The amendment does not contain any medical licensing or health and safety standards for abortion, and it does not require abortions to be performed by a physician or in a licensed medical facility.
It automatically nullifies all state laws that conflict with the amendment, jeopardizing basic abortion regulations — like parental-consent and informed-consent requirements that both sides of the aisle have supported in the past.
The measure also contains various exceptions that would permit abortion on demand through all nine months of pregnancy in many cases.
The lawsuit over the Secretary of State’s rejection of the abortion amendment petitions is currently before the Arkansas Supreme Court. Family Council will continue to monitor and report on the case.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
