U.S. Leads World in Single-Parent Households

Family,

According to the Pew Research Center, the U.S. has the world’s highest rate of children living in single-parent households. Almost a quarter of U.S. children under 18 live with one parent. 

Of course, there are many heroic single parents courageously committed to raising their children. Still, decades of research show how costly it is for so many. Children of unmarried parents, on average, do worse in school, have poorer emotional and physical health, are more likely to commit crimes, and are more likely to have children out of wedlock themselves. 

The sexual revolution decoupled sex from marriage while insisting “the kids will be fine.” Well, they’re not.  

Christians must speak into this issue with truth and love, especially  in a society that fosters adults to seek happiness at the expense of kids. Redefining and reinventing family structures, parenting, and marriage are having horrible consequences. 

On Tuesday, March 15, we are partnering with Focus on the Family to address this topic. Katy Faust of Them Before Us will teach how Christians can stand for the rights of children. Register for the live stream at colsoncenter.org/events.

Copyright 2025 by the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. Reprinted from BreakPoint.org with permission.

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Second FOIA Request Yields 200+ Pages of Documents From UAMS

Transgender, ,

On March 2, Family Council sent a Freedom of Information Act Request to UAMS in Little Rock requesting the following:

  1. Any and all information (including educational materials in any medium) made available within the past five years to patients or their parents/guardians concerning treatment with a hormone, hormone suppressant, and/or pubertal blocker for the following conditions:
    • Gender identity disorder
    • Gender dysphoria
    • Gender incongruence
  2. Any and all information (including copies of blank consent forms) used within the past five years for the purpose of obtaining a patient’s or parent/guardian’s informed consent to treatment with a hormone, hormone suppressant, and/or pubertal blocker for the same conditions lifted in 1. above.

The FOIA request is part of ongoing research regarding puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones used for gender-transition in Arkansas. Family Council has previously sent Freedom of Information Act Requests to UAMS and Arkansas Children’s Hospital.

In response, UAMS sent Family Council more than 200 pages of documents.

Among other things, the documents include:

In 2021 the Arkansas Legislature passed the Save Adolescents From Experimentation (SAFE) Act.

The SAFE Act is an excellent law that protects children from sex-reassignment procedures, puberty blockers, and cross-sex hormones.

Researchers do not know the long term effects that puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones can have on children.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has never approved puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for the purpose of gender transition. Doctors are giving these hormones to kids off-label, in a manner the FDA never intended.

That is part of the reason many experts agree that giving puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children for the purpose of gender transition is experimental, at best.

UAMS operates a pro-transgender Gender Clinic that offers hormone replacement therapies and referrals for sex-change surgeries. However, many people know very little about how medical professionals utilize hormones and puberty blockers for sex-change procedures in Arkansas.

The ACLU and others filed a lawsuit against the SAFE Act last summer, before the law officially took effect, and a federal judge in Little Rock has temporarily blocked the state from enforcing it.

Several business interests and the Biden-Harris Administration also have joined the fight against Arkansas’ SAFE Act.

Arkansas’ Attorney General has appealed that order to the Eighth Circuit to let the state enforce the SAFE Act. A trial in the case is scheduled for October.

Download UAMS’s Full Response to Family Council FOIA Request Here.

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Here Are The Number of Pro-Laws Each Arkansas Legislator Has Successfully Sponsored Since 2011

Abortion, , , ,

Recently Family Council wrote that the Arkansas Legislature passed 44 pro-life laws from 2011 – 2021.

Since then, our team has analyzed the number of times each member of the General Assembly sponsored a pro-life measure that passed into law.

Below is an overview of the number of successful pro-life measures that each legislator sponsored and passed from 2011 to 2021.

Arkansas Senate:

  • Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R – Branch): 7
  • Sen. Missy Irvin (R – Mountain View): 5
  • Sen. Jason Rapert (R – Conway): 5
  • Sen. Bob Ballinger (R – Ozark): 4
  • Sen. Cecile Bledsoe (R – Rogers): 4
  • Sen. Scott Flippo (R – Bull Shoals): 3
  • Sen. Blake Johnson (R – Corning): 3
  • Sen. Linda Collins-Smith (R – Pocahontas): 2
  • Sen. Trent Garner (R – El Dorado): 2
  • Sen. Kim Hammer (R – Benton): 2
  • Sen. Jim Hendren (I – Gravette): 2
  • Sen. Bart Hester (R – Cave Springs): 2
  • Sen. Charles Beckham (R – McNeil): 1
  • Sen. Ben Gilmore (R – Crossett): 1
  • Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson (R – Little Rock): 1
  • Sen. David Sanders (R – Little Rock): 1

Arkansas House of Representatives:

  • Rep. Robin Lundstrum (R – Springdale): 7
  • Rep. Sonia Barker (R – Smackover): 5
  • Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville): 3
  • Rep. Joe Cloud (R – Russellville): 3
  • Rep. Charlene Fite (R – Van Buren): 3
  • Rep. Jim Dotson (R – Bentonville): 2
  • Rep. Andy Mayberry (R – Hensley): 2
  • Rep. Julie Mayberry (R – Hensley): 2
  • Rep. Butch Wilkins (D – Bono): 2
  • Rep. Harlan Breaux (R – Holiday Island): 1
  • Rep. Karilyn Brown (R – Sherwood): 1
  • Rep. Ann Clemmer (R – Benton): 1
  • Rep. Charlie Collins (R – Fayetteville): 1
  • Rep. Tony Furman (R – Benton): 1
  • Rep. Justin Harris (R – West Fork): 1
  • Rep. Spencer Hawks (R – Conway): 1
  • Rep. Mark Lowery (R – Maumelle): 1
  • Rep. Clint Penzo (R – Springdale): 1
  • Rep. Rebecca Petty (R – Rogers): 1
  • Rep. Aaron Pilkington (R – Clarksville): 1
  • Rep. Nate Steel (D – Nashville): 1
  • Rep. Kendon Underwood (R – Cave Springs): 1
  • Rep. Jim Wooten (R – Beebe): 1

As far as we can tell, Sen. Gary Stubblefield has successfully sponsored more pro-life legislation in the Arkansas Senate than any senator in Arkansas history, and Rep. Robin Lundstrum has successfully sponsored more pro-life legislation in the Arkansas House than any representative in Arkansas history.

Many of the lawmakers on this list sponsored other good, pro-life measures that — for various reasons — did not pass into law.

Dozens of lawmakers have served as co-sponsors for pro-life legislation over the years. Many have voted pro-life at every opportunity in the Arkansas House or Arkansas Senate.

In 2021 the Arkansas General Assembly enacted more pro-life legislation than any state legislature in the nation. Thanks to the hard work of these lawmakers, Arkansas is the most pro-life state in America.

Read More About the Pro-Life Laws Passed From 2011 – 2021 Here.

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

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