Watch: Charlie Kirk Discusses Fairness in Women’s Sports at U of A

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In 2022, Charlie Kirk came to the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville as part of Turning Point USA’s “Educate Don’t Mandate Tour.”

Charlie spent an hour and a half speaking to the crowd and answering questions from individuals — many of whom disagreed with him.

During the question and answer portion of the evening, Charlie was asked about letting men who claim to be women access women’s showers, locker rooms, bathrooms, and women’s sports teams.

In his answer, Kirk discussed fairness in women’s sports and said that these situations force women to “live under the tyranny of men who think they’re women”

It’s worth pointing out that most Americans agree that athletes should compete according to their biological sex — not their gender identity.

In 2021 Arkansas passed Act 461 to prevent male athletes from competing against girls in women’s athletics at school. This good law protects fairness in women’s sports in Arkansas.

And in 2023, Arkansas passed Act 317 to protect privacy in public school locker rooms, showers, restrooms, changing areas, and similar facilities by requiring public schools to designate these facilities for “male” or “female” use.

Charlie Kirk was tragically murdered on September 10 during an event on a college campus in Utah.

You can watch Kirk’s remarks from his 2022 University of Arkansas speech and Q&A session below.

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FDA Quietly Approves Generic Version of RU-486 Abortion Drug

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration quietly approved a generic version of the drug mifepristone — part of the RU-486 abortion regimen — on September 30.

Abortionists typically use two drugs for chemical abortions. Mifepristone is administered to kill the unborn baby. A second drug called misoprostol causes the baby to be expelled from the woman’s body.

It is deeply troubling that the FDA would approve a generic abortion drug in light of recent reports on mifepristone.

A study by the experts at the Ethics and Public Policy Center found the abortion drugs mifepristone and misoprostol are at least 22 times more dangerous than the U.S. Food and Drug Administration labeling indicates.

Researchers noted that from 2017 to 2023, nearly one in nine women suffered serious health complications like sepsis, infection, and hemorrhaging as a direct result of abortion drugs.

All of this has prompted the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to launch a formal investigation into the drugs and their safety. It isn’t clear why the FDA would approve a generic form of mifepristone if the federal government is concerned the drug may be dangerous.

Since 2022, Arkansas has generally prohibited abortion except to save the life of the mother, and state law prohibits abortion drugs from being mailed or delivered in the state. Abortionists who break the law are subject to criminal penalties. They may be sued for malpractice, and they face professional discipline — like suspension of their medical licenses.

Unfortunately, lawmakers in some states have enacted “shield laws” to protect abortionists who ship abortion drugs across the country.

If an abortionist in one of these states mails abortion drugs to Arkansas, the state’s “shield law” prevents the abortionist from being prosecuted. Groups like Planned Parenthood are also spending millions of dollars to promote abortion to women from pro-life states like Arkansas. That’s a serious problem.

But Attorney General Tim Griffin has threatened to take legal action against companies advertising abortion drugs in Arkansas. The attorney general says these groups may be penalized under the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act. He has also urged the federal government to restrict abortion drugs and let states like Arkansas enforce their pro-life laws.

Abortion drugs end the lives of unborn children, and they hurt women. They simply should not be for sale in America.

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

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School Will Let Arkansas Student Share His Faith Following Calls from Gov. Sanders, Religious Freedom Advocates

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An Arkansas student who was muted and removed from a public school Zoom call while sharing his faith has been invited back to school.

Zion Ramos is a junior at Arkansas Connections Academy, an online public school. On September 23, Zion wanted to spend two minutes discussing his faith during a school “social time,” which is a daily period set aside for students to talk on Zoom about any topic they choose.

Zion chose to talk about his Christian faith. But while Zion was speaking, a public school teacher reportedly muted him without warning or explanation and removed him from the Zoom call.

After the incident, our friends at First Liberty sent a letter to school officials in Arkansas explaining that the school had violated Zion’s freedoms of speech and free exercise of religion, and Arkansas Governor Sarah Sanders instructed the state Department of Education to open an investigation into the situation.

On Thursday, First Liberty announced that Arkansas Connections Academy has invited Zion back and guaranteed he will have three minutes to share his faith with classmates.

This is great news. Federal courts have ruled time and again that public school students and teachers do not lose their First Amendment freedoms at the schoolhouse doors.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s 1980 Stone v. Graham decision went so far as to say “the Bible may constitutionally be used in an appropriate study of history, civilization, ethics, comparative religion, or the like” in public school.

Other court cases have affirmed that as long as students do not disrupt the learning environment, they are free to pray, discuss religion, share their faith, and engage in other forms of constitutionally-protected speech at school. That means students are free to talk about their faith at school the same way they may talk about other topics. That’s also part of the reason why groups and activities like Fellowship of Christian Athletes, See You At The Pole, and Bring Your Bible to School Day are constitutionally protected at school.

Arkansas has passed some of the best laws in the country affirming students’ religious liberties at school.

State law lets students enroll in elective courses to study the Bible academically at school.

This year lawmakers passed Act 400 by Sen. Mark Johnson (R — Little Rock) and Rep. Alyssa Brown (R — Heber Springs) — a good law that affirms public school students’ and teachers’ religious liberties.

Act 400 identifies and upholds religious freedoms that are already protected by state and federal law — such as the right to pray, discuss religion, or read the Bible during free time at school — and it helps make sure that religious expression is treated equally to other types of speech at school.

We appreciate Arkansas’ lawmakers taking steps to protect religious liberty at school, and we want to thank Governor Sanders for taking Zion’s situation so seriously. We also appreciate Arkansas Connections Academy’s decision to do the right thing and invite Zion back to share his faith.

When it comes to religious liberty, public schools have been a battleground for more than 60 years. The free exercise of religion is a fundamental right. It’s important that we continue to stand up for it at school.

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

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