How Do I Vote When I Don’t Like either Candidate?
You’re in a conversation and someone says, “I don’t like any of the candidates so I’m not voting.” What would you say?
Arkansas Finishes Awarding $1M to Pregnancy Help Organizations for FY 2024
Last month the State of Arkansas finished awarding one million dollars to charities that support women and families with unplanned pregnancies.
Act 622 of 2023 by Sen. Scott Flippo (R – Bull Shoals) and Rep. Lane Jean (R – Magnolia) authorized $1 million in state-funded grants for crisis pregnancy centers, maternity homes, adoption agencies, and social services agencies that provide material support to women with unplanned pregnancies.
This grant funding provides women and families with pro-life alternatives to abortion.
The measure directed the Department of Finance and Administration to distribute the state-funded grants to these pregnancy help organizations by June 30, 2024.
As of June 30, the State of Arkansas successfully distributed $999,999.77 to pregnancy help organizations for Fiscal Year 2024.
This money will help families, and it will have a tremendous, pro-life impact across the state.
Now that abortion is prohibited in Arkansas except to save the life of the mother, we need to support women and families and eliminate the demand for abortion. This grant funding does that. It provides women in Arkansas with actual pro-life options — meaning they are less likely to travel out of state for abortion.
In April, Governor Sanders signed a budget measure providing $2 million to support pregnancy help organizations and maternal and infant wellness in Arkansas for the state’s 2025 fiscal year — which began on Monday.
Besides increasing the grant funding from $1 million to $2 million, the new and improved budget measure also clarifies that “pregnancy help organizations” include nonprofit organizations that promote infant and maternal wellness and reduce infant and maternal mortality by:
- Providing nutritional information and/or nutritional counseling;
- Providing prenatal vitamins;
- Providing a list of prenatal medical care options;
- Providing social, emotional, and/or material support; or
- Providing referrals for WIC and community-based nutritional services, including but not limited to food banks, food pantries, and food distribution centers.
The measure includes language preventing state funds from going to abortionists and their affiliates.
The funding will provide additional grants to pregnancy resource centers, maternity homes, adoption agencies, and other organizations that provide material support to women with unplanned pregnancies in the coming months.
This is something all Arkansans should be proud of. Family Council is grateful to the General Assembly and Governor Sanders for supporting pro-life charities that serve women and families in Arkansas.
Below is a list of pregnancy help organizations that received grant funding in fiscal year 2024.
| Resource Center | Doing Business As | Grant Amount |
| INFORMED CHOICES WOMENS CENTER OF THE OZ | $73,246.90 | |
| NEW BEGINNINGS PREGNANCY CENTER | $49,009.95 | |
| PATHWAY RESOURCE CENTER | $41,239.95 | |
| ST BERNARDS HOSPITAL DEVELOPMENT FOUNDAT | $41,039.95 | |
| HOPEPLACE – FORDYCE | $41,039.95 | |
| HOPEPLACE NEWPORT | $41,039.95 | |
| CRADLE THE MATERNITY SUPPORT CENTER OF C | KATHLEEN BLOSSOM | $41,039.95 |
| PLUM FOUNDATION | PEACE LOVE UNDERSTANDING MERCY | $41,039.95 |
| ABBA CHARITIES INC | $41,039.95 | |
| COMPASSION MINISTRIES LTD | $41,039.95 | |
| OPEN ARMS PREGNANCY CENTER INC | $41,039.95 | |
| ST FRANCIS HOUSE NWA INC | COMMUNITY CLINIC | $41,039.95 |
| ST JOSEPHS HELPERS OF PULASKI COUNTY | ARKANSAS PREGNANCY RESOURCE CENTER | $41,039.95 |
| PREGNANCY HELP CENTER | PREGNANCY HELP CLINIC | $40,995.95 |
| PREGNANCY RESOURCE CENTER FOR SOUTHWEST | $40,958.95 | |
| CRISIS PREGNANCY CENTER OF CENTRAL ARKAN | CARING HEARTS PREGNANCY CENTER | $40,501.95 |
| BAPTIST HEALTH FOUNDATION | $40,039.95 | |
| SOUTH ARKANSAS CARING PREGNANCY CENTER | HANNAH PREGNANCY RESOURCE CENTER | $38,078.95 |
| HEART TO HEART PREGNANCY SUPPORT CENTER | $38,035.46 | |
| CHANGEPOINT PREGNANCY CARE AND PARENTING | $34,714.95 | |
| HOPEPLACE MONTICELLO | $34,532.95 | |
| HOPE OF THE DELTA CENTER | $32,904.51 | |
| ARKANSAS BAPTIST CHILDRENS HOMES AND FAM | LIVING WELL COUNSELING | $24,891.45 |
| FORT SMITH CHRISTIAN FAMILY SERVICES INC | 1ST CHOICE PREGNANCY MEDICAL CENTER | $24,810.45 |
| LIFES CHOICE PREGNANCY CARE CENTER | $24,380.00 | |
| HOPES FIRST CHOICE PREGNANCY RESOURCE CE | $11,257.95 | |
| Total | $999,999.77 |
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
Arkansas Attorney General Sues Chinese Company Temu for Deceiving Arkansans, Illegally Accessing Personal Data
Last week Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin sued Chinese e-commerce platform Temu for
The A.G.’s legal team brought the lawsuit under the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act, which carries a penalty of $10,000 per violation.
Temu is marketed as an online shopping platform launched in 2022, and it is widely regarded as similar to Amazon or Walmart.com. In 2023, the Temu was reported to be the most widely downloaded app in the U.S., and its multibillion dollar marketing campaign — which included an advertisement during the 2024 Super Bowl — has contributed to its success.
But as a Chinese-based tech company, the Arkansas Attorney General’s office has pointed out that security and privacy experts are concerned about Temu.
The A.G.’s lawsuit asserts that Temu “collects a shocking amount of sensitive user data” beyond what is necessary for an online shopping app — including users’ GPS locations and fingerprint data. The lawsuit alleges that the Temu app is able to bypass phone security systems, which potentially grants Temu access to a user’s private messages.
The A.G. says these security concerns are compounded by the fact that Temu is owned by a Chinese company subject to Chinese laws — including “laws that mandate secret cooperation with China’s intelligence apparatus regardless of any data protection guarantees existing in the United States.”
The A.G.’s allegations against Temu are very similar to points the A.G.’s office has made in its lawsuits against TikTok — a widely popular social media platform that is also owned by a Chinese company.
Below is a statement from Attorney General Tim Griffin regarding the lawsuit against Temu.
Griffin: ‘Temu is not an online marketplace like Amazon or Walmart. It is a data-theft business that sells goods online as a means to an end’
LITTLE ROCK – After announcing he is suing Chinese e-commerce company Temu for violations of the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (ADTPA) and the Arkansas Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA), Attorney General Tim Griffin issued the following statement:
“Temu is not an online marketplace like Amazon or Walmart. It is a data-theft business that sells goods online as a means to an end. Today I have filed a first-of-its-kind state lawsuit against the parent companies of Temu—PDD Holdings Inc. and WhaleCo Inc.—for violating the ADTPA and PIPA. Though it is known as an e-commerce platform, Temu is functionally malware and spyware. It is purposefully designed to gain unrestricted access to a user’s phone operating system. It can override data privacy settings on users’ devices, and it monetizes this unauthorized collection of data.
“While this is the first state lawsuit against Temu over its deceptive trade practices, it is not the first time Temu’s tactics have been called into question. Apple suspended Temu from its digital app store in 2023, prompting multiple investigations into the company’s dealings, including an ongoing investigation being conducted by the U.S. Congress.
“Temu is led by a cadre of former Chinese Communist Party officials, which raises significant security risks to our country and our citizens. For my part, I will aggressively fight Temu’s efforts to profit at the expense of Arkansans’ privacy rights.”
The lawsuit, filed in Cleburne County Circuit Court, seeks an order enjoining Temu’s deceptive trade practices and violations of users’ privacy, imposing civil penalties, and providing all other monetary and equitable relief to which the State is entitled.
To read a copy of the lawsuit, click here.
For a printer-friendly version of this release, click here.