Federal Judge Orders Pro-Life Laws in Arkansas to Remain Blocked

Abortion, , ,
Federal Courthouse in Little Rock. (Photo Credit: www.are.uscourts.gov)

Little Rock – On Tuesday U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker in Little Rock ordered four pro-life laws Arkansas passed in 2017 to remain blocked. The laws are Act 45 of 2017 prohibiting certain surgical abortion procedures that dismember a living unborn child; Act 733 of 2017 prohibiting abortions performed due to the baby’s sex; Act 1018 of 2017 requiring abortionists to report abortions performed on any girl under the age of 17 to law enforcement in case the girl turns out to be the victim of sexual assault; and Act 603 of 2017 requiring aborted fetal remains to be disposed of according to the Arkansas Final Disposition Rights Act of 2009.

Family Council President Jerry Cox released a statement saying, “This is at least the third time in less than four years that Judge Baker has blocked these good laws. She blocked them in 2017, but a three-judge panel from the Eighth Circuit unblocked them last August. Judge Baker has given the ACLU and the abortion industry in Arkansas nearly everything it has ever asked for, but the judges above her at the Eighth Circuit have been much more reasonable over the years. With that in mind, I believe it’s likely the Eighth Circuit eventually will overturn her bad ruling.”

Cox said the laws protect women’s health and prevent barbaric abortion practices. “Arkansas’ General Assembly strongly supported these laws in 2017. They protect women from dangerous abortion practices, and they prohibit barbaric abortion procedures that tear living unborn children apart. They also help stop companies from buying and selling organs and tissue harvested from aborted babies, and they protect girls who may be victims of sexual assault. These are good laws, and our courts ought to uphold them. I believe there’s a good possibility that the Eighth Circuit ultimately will do exactly that.”

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Amen and A-Women?

Current Events
John Stonestreet, Radio Host and President of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview.

On Sunday, Democratic Congressman (and, for the record, that’s the gendered term used on his website) Emanuel Cleaver closed his prayer opening the 117th Congress of the United States by saying, “we ask it in the name of the monotheistic God, Brahma, and god known by many names by many different faiths. Amen and a-woman.”

Much fun has been had with the whole “amen and a-woman” part, from pointing out that “amen” is a non-gendered Hebrew way of saying “so be it” to changing words that include “m-e-n” or “m-a-n” and adding “wo” to them. 

But there’s also the Congressman’s attempt to inclusively pray in the names of all the gods he could fit in. That was after he prayed: “May the God who created the world and everything in it, bless us and keep us. May the Lord make His face shine upon us and be gracious unto us. May the Lord lift up the light of His countenance upon us and give us peace…”

How intolerant of the Congressman. After all, not all religions offer a God who created everything, or Who looks on those He made with grace and peace. 

Copyright 2020 by the Colson Center for Christian Worldview. Reprinted from BreakPoint.org with permission.

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Three-Judge Panel Affirms Lower Court Injunction Blocking Two Pro-Life Laws in Arkansas

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On Tuesday a three-judge panel from the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court’s injunction that blocked two pro-life laws the Arkansas Legislature passed in 2019.

The laws are:

  • Act 493 of 2019, prohibiting abortion after the eighteenth week of pregnancy, except in cases of rape, incest, or to save the life of the mother.
  • Act 619 of 2019, prohibiting abortion of an unborn baby solely because the child has Down Syndrome.

These laws passed with overwhelming support from state lawmakers in 2019, but abortionists filed a lawsuit to have them overturned.

U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker issued an injunction blocking the state from enforcing the laws. Today a three-judge panel from the Eighth Circuit affirmed her injunction based on U.S. Supreme Court precedent regarding abortion.

However, Circuit Judge Shepherd and Circuit Judge Erickson both wrote opinions calling for the U.S. Supreme Court to “reevaluate its jurisprudence” regarding abortion and asking the supreme court to revisit its bad Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision.

Judge Erickson even went so far as to note that, “In Western society, there is currently no more threatened population than children with Down syndrome.”

So where do things go from here?

It’s possible the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office will appeal today’s decision to the entire Eighth Circuit. That would give the full Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals an opportunity to weigh in on the laws.

It’s also possible that the ruling will help lawmakers craft better pro-life legislation that will bring us closer to our ultimate goal of ending abortion in Arkansas.

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