Arkansas Passes “No Patient Left Alone Act”

Legislature,

On Tuesday the Arkansas Senate overwhelmingly passed H.B. 1061, the No Patient Left Alone Act, by Rep. Julie Mayberry (R – Hensley) and Sen. Breanne Davis (R – Russellville).

This is a good piece of legislation that will help ensure people in healthcare facilities can receive visitors — even during a pandemic

The bill now goes to Gov. Hutchinson to become law.

At the beginning of this year Family Council outlined a list of priorities for the first few months of 2021. One of them was to secure passage of legislation that would protect people from being left alone and denied visitors in hospitals, nursing homes, and similar facilities. That’s what H.B. 1061 does.

H.B. 1061 is a very good bill. Family Council was pleased to work with Rep. Mayberry — as well as several groups and individuals — to help support its passage.

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Arkansas Governor Signs Law Prohibiting Abortion

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Gov. Hutchinson signs legislation in this file photo from 2015.

The Associated Press reports that Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson has signed into law S.B. 6 prohibiting abortion except to save the life of the mother.

This good law by Sen. Jason Rapert (R – Conway) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) passed with strong support from the Arkansas Senate and the Arkansas House of Representatives.

If enforced, it will save approximately 3,000 unborn children from abortion every year in Arkansas.

If groups like the ACLU or Planned Parenthood challenge it, S.B. 6 will give our federal courts an opportunity to overturn bad abortion rulings like Roe v. Wade.

Either way, Arkansas has the opportunity to be a true leader in the effort to end abortion in America.

Many people have been saying for almost fifty years that abortion should be illegal. The time has come for us to make it so.

Family Council is incredibly pleased at the passage of this excellent legislation. We want to thank our lawmakers for sponsoring and passing such a good bill. We want to thank Governor Hutchinson for signing it into law. Arkansas is the most pro-life state in America, and the legislation that our elected officials support reflects that fact.

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“Pro-Life Evangelicals for Biden” Feel Betrayed by President’s Pro-Abortion Position

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As a candidate, President Biden publicly called for Congress to repeal pro-life policies — like the Hyde Amendment that protects taxpayers from funding abortions except in cases of rape or incest or to save the life or preserve the health of the woman.

Despite President Biden’s support for abortion, the group Pro-Life Evangelicals for Biden publicly endorsed his 2020 presidential bid.

Now that President Biden is supporting pro-abortion policies, the group says it feels “used and betrayed.”

Pro-Life Evangelicals for Biden specifically addressed the fact that the latest COVID-19 relief package does not contain any provisions that prevent public dollars from subsidizing abortion, writing,

We are very disappointed about the COVID-19 relief package’s exclusion of the Hyde Amendment, a longstanding bipartisan policy that prevents taxpayer funding for abortion. We’re even more upset that the Biden administration is supporting this bill.

Frankly, it should not surprise anyone that President Biden doesn’t think the Hyde Amendment’s pro-life language ought to be applied to the COVID-19 relief package. After all, President Biden said so himself in 2019 that he believes the Hyde Amendment needs to go.

All of this simply underscores the need for better pro-life policies at the state and local level.

If our federal government isn’t going to stand up for the right to life, it’s up to our state officials to do so.

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