Arkansas Ranked Most Pro-Life State in America For Second Year In A Row

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, November 15, 2021

On Monday Americans United for Life announced that Arkansas is the most pro-life state in America for the second year in a row. The pro-life organization ranks each state based on state laws protecting the unborn, the elderly, the disabled, and the terminally ill.

Family Council President Jerry Cox released a statement saying, “This is incredible news. Arkansans should be proud of their state legislators for enacting the best laws in the nation when it comes to protecting innocent human life. That’s something to celebrate.”

Cox said that making Arkansas the most pro-life state in America has taken years of work by many different people. “A little over a decade ago Family Council joined with others in setting out to make Arkansas the most pro-life state in America. By working together, we have done that. Becoming the most pro-life state in America didn’t happen overnight. It was the result of many years of hard work. Keeping Arkansas the most pro-life state will take constant effort. Arkansas Right to Life has been fighting abortion for over forty years, and Family Council has been at it for more than thirty years. Arkansas’ General Assembly has passed at least forty-seven good, pro-life laws since 2011. Governor Hutchinson has signed into law every pro-life bill that came across his desk, and Attorney General Rutledge has defended those laws in court. Ministers, churches, pregnancy resource centers, and everyday Arkansans all have worked very hard to make Arkansas the pro-life state that it is today.”

Cox pointed out that abortion has declined significantly in Arkansas, and most Arkansans do not support abortion on demand. “It’s great to be the nation’s most pro-life state, but it’s even more important that abortion is declining. Abortion in Arkansas has plummeted to levels we haven’t seen since the 1970s. Teen abortion in Arkansas sits at record lows today. Public opinion polling shows the overwhelming majority of Arkansans believe abortion ought to be either completely illegal or legal only in certain circumstances. More than forty pregnancy resource centers around the state help women and girls with unplanned pregnancies. So far this year eighteen counties and cities across Arkansas have passed resolutions affirming they are pro-life. It isn’t just that lawmakers are passing anti-abortion laws. Arkansans themselves are incredibly pro-life.”

Cox said Arkansas has proven to be a leader in the effort to end abortion. “As a pro-life leader, Arkansas has done vital work, but we can’t stand still.  Court cases are in play right now in Arkansas and elsewhere that could dismantle pro-abortion rulings like Roe v. Wade. Arkansas has an important role in that process and in showing other states how they can build a culture of life.”

Cox said even though Arkansas is the most pro-life state in the country, pro-life efforts are far from over. “Being the most pro-life state in America two years in a row is something Arkansans can be proud of. It shows Arkansas is committed to defending innocent human life. But there is still a lot of work to do. The ultimate goal is to end abortion and protect every innocent life from conception until natural death. We look forward to continuing to defend the sanctity of human life and working to end abortion in Arkansas.”

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China’s Organ Harvesting Problem

John Stonestreet, Radio Host and Director of the Colson Center

According to a new report from the China Tribunal, the Chinese government is harvesting organs, essentially running a “kill to order” business of conscience dissidents from inside the Fulan Gong sect and Uyghur prison camps. They then remove organs from the dead.

The scale is stunning. Last year, China reported 20,000 organ transplants to the World Health Organization. Critics think the number is closer to 100,000. The numbers are staggering, but this is something that’s been widely reported since 2006, with government documents from China outlining parts of the practice since the early 2000s.

Forced organ harvesting from minorities is barbaric. It’s a consequence of the Chinese Communist Party’s dehumanizing view of its citizens and its totalitarian methods, which are further reflected in its draconian birth policies. The continuation of this practice is enabled by an international community still pretending it isn’t happening. 

The test of a society, and the worldview driving it, isn’t just what it promotes, but also what evil it confronts. Right now, the silence is telling.

Copyright 2021 by the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. Reprinted from BreakPoint.org with permission.

Arkansas Joins Second Lawsuit Against Biden Administration’s Vaccine Mandates

On Wednesday Arkansas’ Attorney General’s office joined a coalition of states in a second lawsuit challenging the Biden Administration’s federal vaccine mandates.

The lawsuit was filed against the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in federal court in Missouri.

Besides Arkansas, plaintiffs in the lawsuit include attorneys general from Missouri, Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, Wyoming, Alaska, South Dakota, North Dakota, and New Hampshire.

This latest lawsuit is in addition to one that Arkansas joined last week in the Eighth Circuit against the U.S. Department of Labor.

The lawsuit is directed at the federal government’s COVID vaccine mandate for healthcare workers. The mandate requires employees at healthcare facilities that receive Medicaid or Medicare funding to be vaccinated.

The lawsuit argues that the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate for healthcare workers is unlawful and “threatens to exacerbate an alarming shortage of healthcare workers, particularly in rural communities.”

It also notes that the Biden’s Administration mandate would conflict with Arkansas’ state laws concerning immunizations — including a new law recently passed at the state legislature’s extended session.

You can read the legal challenge against the Biden Administration’s vaccine mandate here.