Last week Family Council obtained documents from the Arkansas Department of Health via the state’s Freedom of Information Act showing that abortion facilities in Little Rock have hospital transfer agreements with UAMS.
Act 740 of 2021 by Sen. Ben Gilmore (R – Crossett) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) requires each abortion facility to have a transfer agreement with a local hospital and a transport agreement with a local ambulance service.
Act 740 is similar to a Kentucky law that has survived legal challenge. It helps protect women and babies who may be victims of botched abortions.
Arkansas currently has two licensed abortion facilities — both of which are in Little Rock: Planned Parenthood and Little Rock Family Planning Services.
Planned Parenthood recently opened a facility in Rogers, but it is not yet licensed to perform abortions.
WHEREAS: We unite in prayer, approaching the throne of God with confidence, as we ask for wisdom and guidance for the students of Arkansas throughout this school year; and
WHEREAS: We acknowledge our deep reliance on God to guide us through our academic endeavors and these challenging times; and
WHEREAS: We join in faith and prayer, seeking the Lord’s wisdom above all, and we humbly ask for God’s guidance, peace, and strength for students in Arkansas and our nation; and
WHEREAS: Students, teachers, and administrators of our State are afforded the privilege of prayer, affirming our spiritual heritage and the principles upon which our nation was founded; and
WHEREAS: Recognizing the love and power of God, we unite with fellow citizens to exercise the freedom we have to gather in prayer with thankfulness while seeking guidance, provision, protection and purpose for the benefit of every individual and our state as a whole; and
NOW, THEREFORE, I, ASA HUTCHINSON, Governor of the State of Arkansas, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the laws of the State of Arkansas, do hereby proclaim September 29th, 2021, as A DAY OF PRAYER FOR ARKANSAS STUDENTS across the state, and I urge all citizens of all faiths and backgrounds to voluntarily join in prayer for the success and safety of our students.
On Thursday Commissioner of Education Johnny Key issued a memo notifying educators that September 29 is a day of prayer and that Governor Hutchinson had issued a proclamation asking Arkansans to pray for students, teachers, and administrators.
We are grateful to Senator Hill and Representative Cooper for sponsoring Act 902 and to the legislature for passing this good measure into law. We also want to thank Governor Hutchinson and Commissioner Key for recognizing September 29 as the state’s first annual Day of Prayer for Arkansas Students. And we want to encourage Arkansans everywhere to pause this coming Wednesday to pray for our students, our teachers, and our school administrators.
Above: City of Little Rock surveillance video from July 13, 2021, appears to show a vehicle hop the curb of the sidewalk outside Little Rock Family Planning Services — a surgical abortion facility in Little Rock.
Over the summer, Family Council obtained multiple videos and police reports in which pro-lifers alleged having close encounters with vehicles outside a surgical abortion facility in Little Rock.
OFFICERS WERE DISPATCHED TO 10825 HERMITAGE ROAD FOR A BATTERY REPORT. UPON ARRIVAL CONTACT WAS MADE WITH DENISE SHEWMAKE. MRS. SHEWMAKE STATED SHE WAS STANDING ON THE SIDEWALK IN FRONT OF 4 OFFICE PARK DR. MS. SHEWMAKE STATED THE BUSINESS IS AN ABORTION CLINIC AND SHE STANDS OUTSIDE TO LET THE LADIES KNOW THERE ARE OTHER OPTIONS. MRS. SHEWMAKE STATED AS SHE WAS STANDING ON THE SIDEWALK SHE HAD HER BACK FACING THE STREET. MRS. SHEWMAKE STATED HER FRIEND, KIM PUSKA STATED “WATCH OUT SHE IS COMING”. MRS. SHEWMAKE STATED THE OWNER OF THE BUSINESS, NATALIE TVEDTEN ATTEMPTED TO HIT HER WITH HER VEHICLE CAUSING HER TO FALL INTO THE LANDSCAPING. THERE WERE NO INJURIES SEEN ON MRS. SHEWMAKE. NO MEDICAL ATTENTION WAS NEEDED. MRS. SHEWMAKE STATED THE VEHICLE DID NOT MAKE CONTACT WITH HER. MRS. SHEWMAKE STATED SHE WAS ABLE TO JUMP OUT OF THE WAY IN TIME. MRS. SHEWMAKE STATED MRS. TVEDTEN MAKES THREATS TO THE “ABORTION PROTESTERS” ALL THE TIME ABOUT RUNNING THEM OVER WITH HER VEHICLE. CONTACT WAS MADE WITH MRS. TVEDTEN, SHE STATED SHE WAS PULLING INTO HER DRIVEWAY OF THE BUSINESS AND DID NOT SEE ANYONE IN THE DRIVEWAY. MRS. TVEDTEN STATED SHE DID NOT ATTEMPT TO HIT MRS. SHEWMAKE WITH HER VEHICLE.
Below is video footage Family Council obtained from the the alleged July 13 incident via Arkansas’ Freedom of Information Act.
Below is a 2020 photograph of the location where the incident allegedly occurred. A white line painted across the driveway appears to separate the public easement from the abortion facility’s private property.
Above: A street-level view of the location where the July 13, 2021, incident allegedly occurred. (Photo taken April 16, 2020).
Family Council has obtained police reports and video footage of similar alleged incidents since July.
Video footage from the morning of September 7, 2021, shows what appears to be the same vehicle passing close to a person standing on the sidewalk outside the facility:
Surveillance video footage from that afternoon on September 7, 2021, shows what appears to be the same vehicle stopping abruptly before a woman who was crossing the facility’s driveway:
A Little Rock Police Department incident report indicates that Natalie Tvedten allegedly was driving the vehicle seen in the video that afternoon, and that Becky Matthews was the woman crossing the driveway. The police report says,
ON 09/09/2021 BECKY MATTHEWS REPORTED A HARASSMENT. MS. MATTHEWS STATED SHE WAS PRAYING OUTSIDE THE ABORTION CLINIC ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD AT THE INCIDENT ADDRESS WITH MARY JO LEWNO. WHILE AT THE SCENE ON 09/07/2021 AT APPROXIMATELY 1425 HOURS, NATALIE TVEDTEN DROVE UP ON MS. MATTHEWS QUICKLY AND STARTED TO YELL OBSCENITIES AT HER. NO INJURIES WERE REPORTED. MS. MATTHEWS WAS ADVISED TO SEEK A WARRANT AND AN ORDER OF PROTECTION.
Family Council also has obtained LRPD incident reports related to similar, alleged incidents outside the abortion facility since 2018.
OFFICERS MADE CONTACT WITH DANNY GUNDERMAN AT THE LISTED LOCATION. HE ADVISED HE WAS PRAYING ON THE STREET CORNER, WHEN HE NOTICED VEHICLE #1 DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD. HE ADVISED VEHICLE #1 SWERVED AND PURPOSELY STRUCK HIM. HE ADVISED THE MIRROR HIT HIM FIRST, AND THE TIRE GRAZED THE SIDE OF HIS FOOT. HE ADVISED THE DRIVER TOLD HIM NOT TO STAND IN THE DRIVEWAY OF THE LISTED ADDRESS. MR. GUNDERMAN STATED HE WAS NOT IN THE DRIVER WAY, AND WAS STANDING ON THE CORNER OF THE SIDEWALK AT THE EDGE OF THE STREET. HE STATED, HE RECOGNIZED THE DRIVER AS NATALIE TUEDTEN [sic], OWNER OF THE CLINIC. OFFICERS MADE CONTACT WITH NATALIE TUEDTEN [sic], WHO ADVISED MR. GUNDERMAN WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE DRIVEWAY, AND SHE SWERVED AROUND HIM, IN ORDER TO AVOID HITTING HIM. SHE STATED SHE DID NOT HEAR THE VEHICLE BUMP HIM, AND DID NOT HIT HIM AT ALL. OFFICERS NOTICED CAMERAS POINTING TOWARDS THE ENTRANCE OF THE BUSINESS, AND REQUESTED THE STAFF LET THEM VIEW THE VIDEO FOOTAGE; HOWEVER, THE STAFF TOLD OFFICERS THE CAMERAS HAVE NOT BEEN RECORDING SINCE EARLY FEBRUARY. MR. GUNDERMAN STATED HE HAD NO IMMEDIATE INJURIES AND REFUSED MEDICAL TREATMENT. SERGEANT JOHNSTON WAS ADVISED OF THE INCIDENT. OFFICERS MADE CONTACT WITH WITNESS #1 MR. HART, HE ADVISED SHE SAW MR. GUNDERMAN STANDING ON THE CORNER OF THE ENTRANCE TO 4 OFFICE PARK DRIVE, AND NOT THE CENTER OF THE ENTRANCE. HE ADVISED THE SILVER COLOR SUV DRIVEN BY THE SUSPECT MS. TUEDTEN [sic] DELIBERATELY STRUCK MR. GUNDERMAN. WITNESS #2 SUAREZ ADVISED SHE ONLY RECOGNIZED THE DRIVER, BUT SHE DID NOT SEE THE ENTIRE INCIDENT. OFFICERS OBSERVED A SHRUB BED NEXT TO THE SIDE WALK. THE SIDE WALK ENDED AS THE DRIVEWAY STARTED. MR. GUNDERMAN WAS STANDING VERY CLOSE TO THE DRIVEWAY AT THE EDGE OF THE STREET, THEREBY POSSIBLY OBSTRUCTING THE ENTRANCE WAY INTO THE BUSINESS. THE WITNESS ON THE SCENE WAS ALSO THERE TO PROTEST THE ABORTION CLINIC. OFFICERS ADVISED BOTH VICTIMS TO SEEK WARRANTS.
The police reports and surveillance video footage seem to indicate that pro-lifers have had multiple close calls with vehicles outside of Little Rock Family Planning Services over the years. As far as Family Council can tell, authorities have not pursued any action against the facility’s employees or owners as a result of these alleged incidents.
The information contained in this blog post was compiled and written with assistance from members of the Family Council staff.
