Last week the House Judiciary Committee discussed a good bill that would help address illegal abortion drugs in Arkansas.
In Arkansas, abortion is generally prohibited except to save the life of the mother. It is also against the law to deliver abortion-inducing drugs like RU-486 into the state.
However, pro-life states like Arkansas are struggling to stop abortionists in other states from trafficking illegal abortion drugs across state lines.
NPR reported last year that legislators in some pro-abortion states have enacted “shield laws” to protect abortionists who ship abortion drugs across state lines. The shield laws give abortionists immunity from civil or criminal liability and prevent them from being extradited to the state where the abortion drugs were sent. That makes it very difficult for authorities in Arkansas to hold abortionists in other states accountable for breaking the law.
This year Rep. Wayne Long (R — Bradford) filed H.B. 1678 to strengthen Arkansas’ Abortion-Inducing Drugs Safety Act that prevents abortion drugs from being delivered or administered illegally in Arkansas.
H.B. 1678 would increase the penalty for selling or prescribing illegal abortion drugs, and it would make it easier to take an abortionist to court for violating the Abortion-Inducing Drugs Safety Act.
All of this would provide additional options for enforcing Arkansas’ pro-life laws.
The Arkansas Legislature is expected to adjourn soon, and lawmakers are running out of time to hear and discuss all of the bills at the Capitol right now. However, House Judiciary Committee Chair Rep. Carol Dalby (R — Texarkana) made sure that Rep. Long had an opportunity to present H.B. 1678 to the committee last week.
On April 3, the House Judiciary Committee met to discuss H.B. 1678 in committee. Rep. Long explained the bill to the committee members and took the time to answer questions about H.B. 1678. Several points were raised about the different ways Arkansas might enforce its good, pro-life laws. After about 20 minutes of discussion, Rep. Long opted to pull H.B. 1678 down so he could work on it some more. Pulling the bill down gives Rep. Long an opportunity to improve the bill and present it again at a later date.
Family Council deeply appreciates Rep. Dalby making sure H.B. 1678 received a fair hearing in the House Judiciary Committee last week, and we appreciate Rep. Long’s willingness to work with the committee members on this important issue.
Abortion drugs like RU-486 hurt women and kill unborn children. We simply can’t let abortionists in states like New York or California violate the pro-life laws that our legislators have passed.
Rep. Long, Rep. Dalby, and the House Judiciary Committee are giving this issue the attention it deserves, and Family Council is pleased to get to work alongside them to stop abortion drugs in Arkansas.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
