Abortion Amendment Group Hired 265 Canvassers to Collect Signatures

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Public documents obtained from the Secretary of State’s office show the group backing the Arkansas Abortion Amendment paid 265 canvassers to collect signatures in support of the measure.

The amendment by Arkansans for Limited Government would write abortion into the state constitution. The group submitted some 101,525 signatures to place the measure on the ballot on Friday. The Secretary of State is currently reviewing and counting the signatures to determine if they are valid.

Arkansans for Limited Government submitted documents to the Secretary of State showing the group employed 265 paid petition canvassers over the course of the signature campaign — including more than 70 paid canvassers hired within 48 hours of the July 5 deadline to submit petitions for the abortion measure.

Under Arkansas law, paid petition canvassers must be residents of Arkansas. They must pass a criminal background check, and their information must be properly recorded with the Secretary of State’s office.

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.

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

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Marijuana Group Employed 470 Paid Canvassers to Collect Signatures

Marijuana,

Public documents obtained from the Secretary of State’s office show the group backing the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment paid some 470 canvassers to collect signatures in support of the ballot proposal.

The marijuana amendment by Arkansans for Patient Access would change the state constitution to expand marijuana in Arkansas. The group submitted signatures to place the measure on the ballot last Friday. The Secretary of State is currently reviewing and counting the signatures to determine if they are valid.

Arkansans for Patient Access provided documents to the Secretary of State showing the group employed some 470 paid petition canvassers over the course of the signature campaign.

Under Arkansas law, paid petition canvassers must be residents of Arkansas. They must pass a criminal background check, and their information must be properly recorded with the Secretary of State’s office.

If passed, the marijuana amendment would drastically expand marijuana in Arkansas.

The amendment makes it possible for people to grow and use medical marijuana without suffering from a specific medical condition listed in state law.

The measure would give free marijuana cards to immigrants and out-of-state residents who come to Arkansas to use marijuana.

It also would guarantee marijuana growers and sellers a monopoly over the state’s marijuana industry.

The measure also fails to limit the amount of THC that marijuana products can contain, and it repeals restrictions on marijuana advertising.

All of this would lead to more marijuana in the state.

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

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Scottish Government Advised to Protect Kids from Puberty Blockers

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Recently the BBC reported the Scottish government “has been advised to formally pause puberty blockers until further research has been carried out.” This comes as countries in Europe continue to take steps to protect children from puberty blockers and other sex-change procedures.

In 2022 the U.K.’s National Health Services closed its Tavistock gender clinic that gave puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children for many years.

A government investigation revealed healthcare professionals at the Tavistock clinic pressured families into subjecting their children to puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones despite an obvious lack of scientific evidence and inadequate mental health screenings for children with gender dysphoria.

Earlier this year, the NHS officially banned healthcare professionals from prescribing puberty blockers to children.

In 2021, a major hospital in Sweden announced that it would no longer give puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to kids, and last year the U.S. Food and Drug Administration added a warning label to puberty blockers in America after biological girls developed swelling in the brain.

In 2021, lawmakers in Arkansas also overwhelmingly passed the Save Adolescents From Experimentation (SAFE) Act.

The SAFE Act is a good law that prevents doctors in Arkansas from performing sex-change surgeries on children or giving them puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones.

Over the past three years, reports from Europe and elsewhere have shown time and again that Arkansas was right to pass the SAFE Act.

Unfortunately, the SAFE Act has been tied up in court since 2021. However, we believe our courts ultimately will recognize that the SAFE Act is a good law and uphold it as constitutional.

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

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