Bad Legislation Would Protect Creation and Destruction of Human Embryos in Arkansas

Bioethics, , , ,

Legislation has been filed in Arkansas guaranteeing that people have a “right” to create and kill human embryos.

H.B. 1013 by Rep. Andrew Collins (D — Little Rock) governs fertility treatments in Arkansas. The bill says every individual has a “right” to receive fertility treatments from healthcare providers — including a right to sign contracts with providers concerning the way the provider handle, test, store, ship, and dispose of “the individual’s reproductive genetic material.”

The bill makes it clear that “reproductive genetic material” includes fertilized eggs and embryos.

Lawmakers will have the opportunity to discuss H.B. 1013 and other measures when they convene for their next legislative session in Little Rock on January 13.

H.B. 1013 would protect unethical practices that violate the sanctity of human life in Arkansas.

Unethical fertility clinics have come under fire for creating and killing surplus human embryos, allowing them to be used for medical experimentation, or leaving them in cold storage indefinitely.

Being pro-life means believing that human life is sacred from conception until natural death.

Human embryos are human beings — and human beings are not products that can be created and destroyed at will.

H.B. 1013 would give people and medical facilities the “right” to violate the sanctity and dignity of human life.

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

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Lawsuit Over Issue 2 Could Go to Trial in March of 2025

Casinos

The lawsuit over whether or not Arkansas can keep a casino out of Pope County may go to trial in March of next year. The lawsuit is part of Cherokee Nation Business’s effort to block Issue 2 that voters passed on November 5.

Issue 2 is a constitutional amendment that prevents the State of Arkansas from licensing a casino in Pope County. It also prevents any additional casinos from being opened in Arkansas without a new constitutional amendment and without local voter approval at a special election.

Cherokee Nation Business had previously received a license to operate a casino in Pope County. After Issue 2 passed, Cherokee Nation Business filed a federal lawsuit to undo the will of the people and block Issue 2.

The lawsuit argues that Issue 2 violates Cherokee Nation Business’s constitutional rights. It also claims Issue 2 lacks due process, impairs contracts, and unfairly targets their casino license.

Last week U.S. District Judge D.P. Marshall, Jr., issued a scheduling order indicating the lawsuit could go to trial sometime March 18-20 or March 25-27.

Legalized gambling has become a scourge in our state. On average, Arkansans are gambling more than a million dollars every day on sports betting alone. In spite of that, casino tax revenue has not improved Arkansas’ roads or boosted the economy. Instead it’s hurt our communities. The Arkansas Problem Gambling Council has seen a 22% increase in calls for help with problem gambling this year. Unless Arkansas’ lawmakers and its people take a stand, gambling addiction is simply going to continue wrecking lives and hurting families in our state.

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

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Bad Bill Would Let Arkansas Libraries Distribute Obscenity, Explicit Sexual Material

Decency, ,

On Wednesday Rep. Andrew Collins (D — Little Rock) filed H.B. 1028. This bad bill would repeal Arkansas’ laws that protect children from harmful sexual material and prohibit public libraries from sharing obscene material.

Last year the Arkansas Legislature passed Act 372 of 2023 — a good law that prohibits giving or sending a child harmful sexual material that contains nudity or sexual activity.

Act 372 eliminated exemptions for libraries and schools in the state’s obscenity statute, and it clarified how library patrons can work to remove objectionable material from a library’s catalog. Unfortunately, some protections in this good law have been blocked in court .

Act 372 of 2023 was prompted by obscene children’s books that some librarians have placed on the shelves of their local libraries.

For example, the Jonesboro public library has been at the center of multiple controversies over its decision to place books with sexually-explicit images in its children’s section and for failing to adopt a policy that separates sexual material from children’s content.

The library in Jonesboro went so far as to post on Facebook that it isn’t the library’s responsibility to protect kids from obscenity.

Following the controversy in Jonesboro, voters opted to cut the library’s millage in half.

Other public libraries in Arkansas have included graphic children’s books in their catalogs and failed to separate sexual material from children’s material as well.

Some of the people who testified publicly against Act 372 last year indicated that they actually want to be free to share obscene material with children at a library. H.B. 1028 would do that.

H.B. 1028 effectively repeals Act 372 and the good protections for children that it contains. It also exempts public libraries from the state’s obscenity statute, and it requires public libraries to have “a written policy prohibiting the practice of banning books or other materials because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval” in order to receive public funding.

Public libraries are supposed to be for everyone. Families should be able to take their children to the library without worrying what their children might see, and taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize books that show explicit images of minors engaged in sexual acts.

Unfortunately, H.B. 1028 is a bad bill that would repeal important laws that Arkansas passed to protect children, families, and communities.

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

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