In 1979, John Denver recorded these words in the Christmas song, “When the River Meets the Sea.”
Like a baby when it is sleeping in its loving mother’s arms,
What a newborn baby dreams is a mystery.
But his life will find a purpose and in time he’ll understand
When the river meets the sea.
I don’t know if newborn babies dream about Christmas, but this year Family Council estimates that as many as a thousand babies will live to see their first Christmas thanks to pro-life laws you have helped us support. Those laws saved them from being aborted this year.
On June 24 the U.S. Supreme Court issued its historic Dobbs v. Jackson decision overturning the Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey abortion decisions from 1973 and 1992. Within a matter of hours, Attorney General Leslie Rutledge certified that Arkansas’ law generally prohibiting abortion was in full effect. Planned Parenthood and Little Rock Family Planning Services immediately stopped performing abortions.
In recent years, Arkansas has aborted, on average, approximately 3,000 unborn children annually. Given that history, Family Council estimates that as many as one thousand unborn children were saved from abortion from June 24 through today.
To put it another way, those baby girls and boys will get to live, be born, and celebrate their first Christmas because of Arkansas’s pro-life laws. In January we expect that some lawmakers will come to the Capitol Building in Little Rock with plans to weaken those good laws. We cannot let that happen.
If our pro-life laws remain in effect, they will save as many as 3,000 children from abortion in 2023. We must continue to stand for life. If we do, thousands of other babies can live to enjoy Christmas this year, next year — and for many more Christmases to come
Above: Illicit “rainbow” fentanyl produced and sold illegally by drug cartels.
The Arkansas Legislature will receive $140 million to the state’s general revenue fund as a result of settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors, according to a press release from the Arkansas Attorney General.
In recent years pharmacies and pharmaceutical companies have faced lawsuits and backlash from the public as a result of opioid misuse and abuse contributing to drug addiction in America.
For example, in 2020 the federal Department of Justice filed a lawsuit alleging that Walmart “unlawfully dispensed controlled substances from pharmacies it operated across the country and unlawfully distributed controlled substances to those pharmacies throughout the height of the prescription opioid crisis.” Walmart disputes these allegations, but agreed to a $3.1 billion nationwide opioid settlement framework last month to resolve lawsuits like this one.
While prescription opioid abuse remains a problem, illicit opioids — which are manufactured or sold illegally — have reached epidemic proportions.
In November the U.S. Treasury Department issued sanctions against the La Nueva Familia Michoacana drug cartel from Mexico for smuggling illicit drugs — including fentanyl — across the United States.
Earlier this fall Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge warned parents about the increase in “rainbow fentanyl” pills that look like candy.
And last month the FBI arrested 45 individuals believed to be tied to large-scale trafficking of fentanyl, marijuana, and other drugs in Arkansas.
Nationwide, opioids like fentanyl, and other drugs such as marijuana, are big business for drug cartels.
State and local governments may be able to use opioid settlement money from these lawsuits to fight drug addiction and drug abuse in our communities.
Below is a press release from Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge about the opioid settlement funding.
LTTLE ROCK – Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge today announced she would direct restricted opioid settlement dollars totaling over $140 million to the general revenue in anticipation of the upcoming 94th General Assembly in January 2023. The settlement funds allocated to Arkansas are a result of Rutledge’s long-fought legal battles with opioid manufacturers and distributors.
“Arkansas has been a national leader in our multifaceted approach to this epidemic and we have made tremendous strides in the last eight years, but we must get these funds to the Legislature where the money will be used to help Arkansans in desperate need of resources to combat this epidemic,” said Attorney General Leslie Rutledge. “Arkansas is anticipating almost one-half billion dollars to come to the state. Arkansans combating addiction must have access to affordable treatment options in every corner of our State and the General Assembly is best equipped to ensure the needs of their respective communities are met.”
In early 2017, Attorney General Rutledge took an aggressive approach to protecting Arkansans and combating the epidemic by suing manufacturers Johnson & Johnson, Purdue Pharma, and Endo Pharmaceuticals for violations of the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (ADTPA), public nuisance, unjust enrichment, civil conspiracy, and the Arkansas Medicaid Fraud False Claims Act. She also filed a lawsuit against distributors Cardinal Health, McKesson Corporation, and AmerisourceBergen Drug Corporation for violations of the ADTPA, negligence, creation of a public nuisance, and being unjustly enriched by their business practices. This litigation was settled in early 2022.
Rutledge has settled or is in the process of settling with: CVS Health Corporation, Walgreens, McKinsey, Teva Pharmaceuticals, Walmart, and Mallinckrodt for their contributions to the opioid epidemic.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
