Measure Would Provide $1M to Help Women in Arkansas Choose Options Besides Abortion

Abortion, , ,

On Tuesday, Arkansas Senator Jimmy Hickey (R – Texarkana) filed S.B. 102 appropriating $1 million in state grant funding for pregnancy resource centers.

Under Sen. Hickey’s proposal, state-funded grants would be available for crisis pregnancy centers, maternity homes, adoption agencies, and social services agencies that provide material support to women with unplanned pregnancies. The Department of Finance and Administration would be responsible for structuring and awarding the grants.

S.B. 102 also contains language clarifying that grant funding cannot go to abortion providers.

One way we can help end abortion is by eliminating the demand for abortion.

Pregnancy resource centers and similar organizations give women real options besides abortion. That’s why a growing number of states provide these organizations with state funding.

Many of these centers provide everything from ultrasounds and pregnancy tests to maternity clothes and adoption referrals — typically free of charge. They often operate on very tight budgets and rely heavily on volunteers and donations.

S.B. 102 would help equip these pregnancy resource centers with the tools they need to serve women and families in communities across Arkansas.

You Can Read S.B. 102 Here.

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Arkansas Lawmakers Approve Sports Betting on Smart Phones

Casinos,

On Tuesday the Arkansas Legislature’s Joint Budget Committee approved a state rule change that permits sports betting online via mobile devices.

The new rule is slated to take effect in a few days.

Under this new rule, gamblers will be able to bet on sporting events online via a computer, smart phone, or other mobile device from anywhere in Arkansas.

As we have said for weeks, when voters passed Amendment 100 in 2018, they authorized casino gambling at certain locations in Arkansas — not from anywhere in the state over the Internet.

This rule change permits sports betting anywhere in Arkansas. That isn’t what voters had in mind back in 2018.

It’s impossible to monitor Internet gambling to be sure state and federal laws are enforced.

No matter how many safeguards and security features are in place, there’s no way to guarantee that children won’t gamble via these smart phone apps.

People who gamble online face a serious risk of developing a gambling addiction, and some research indicates that people who engage in sports betting are twice as likely to suffer from gambling problems.

Arkansas already has enough problems from gambling. These new rules only make those problems worse.

Bottom line: Online sports betting is a bad bet for Arkansas.

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Arkansas Home Schooler Earns Perfect Score on ACT

Education, Home School,

The Education Alliance is proud to announce that eleventh grade home schooler Alison Giggleman of Roland recently scored a perfect 36 on the ACT.

The ACT is one of the most widely-recognized standardized tests for assessing college readiness. Scoring a perfect 36 on the ACT puts Alison in the top 99th percentile of students who took the test and unlocks incredible opportunities for her when it comes to enrolling in college and qualifying for academic scholarships.

Home schoolers in Arkansas have a solid reputation for academic achievement. They routinely outperform other students on standardized tests, and many have gone on to graduate from prestigious colleges and universities.

I hope you will join us in congratulating Alison and her parents, Charles and Mika, for her accomplishment.

Photo by Nguyen Dang Hoang Nhu on Unsplash

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