“Religious Freedom Day” Resolution Filed at Arkansas Legislature

Religious Freedom,

On Monday Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) and Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R – Branch) filed H.C.R. 1005 declaring January 16, 2023, “Religious Freedom Day” in Arkansas.

The concurrent resolution recognizes the role that the free exercise of religion and the freedom of conscience have played throughout our nation’s history.

The measure quotes multiple U.S. presidents, including President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who said in 1935,

[I]n the conflict of policies and of political systems, which the world today witnesses, the United States has held for its own guidance and for the guidance of other nations if they will accept it, this great torch of liberty of human thought, liberty of human conscience. We will never lower it.

January 16 marks the 237th anniversary of the enactment of the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom that Thomas Jefferson drafted in 1786. The Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom is widely considered the forerunner of the First Amendment.

You can read H.C.R. 1005 here.

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Measure Would Permit Pro-Life “Baby Boxes” at Volunteer Fire Stations in Arkansas

Abortion, , , ,

On Monday Rep. Julie Mayberry (R – Hensley) and Sen. Missy Irvin (R – Mountain View) filed H.B. 1098 permitting Safe Haven Baby Boxes at volunteer fire stations in Arkansas.

Arkansas’ Safe Haven Act of 2001 lets a woman surrender her newborn baby to law enforcement, medical personnel, and first responders.

The law gives women with unplanned pregnancies an option besides abortion, and it protects newborns from being abandoned.

Similar laws are on the books in all 50 states.

Act 185 of 2019 by Sen. Cecile Bledsoe (R – Rogers) and Rep. Rebecca Petty (R – Rogers) improved Arkansas’ Safe Haven law by letting fire stations install Safe Haven Boxes — sometimes called ‘baby boxes’ — where women can anonymously place their newborn. Placing a baby inside the box triggers a silent alarm notifying first responders about the child.

Since then, multiple babies in Arkansas have been saved by these baby boxes.

H.B. 1098 makes it possible for volunteer fire departments to install baby boxes at their stations, provided that the department maintains and monitors the baby box in accordance with state law, and first responders are able to reach the baby in less than four minutes.

Now that abortion is prohibited in Arkansas except to save the life of the mother, it is essential for our state to assist women with unplanned pregnancies. Safe Haven Baby Boxes give women real options besides abortion, and H.B. 1098 will expand the number of potential locations where these baby boxes can operate in Arkansas.

Read H.B. 1098 Here.

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