Bill Filed to Protect Physical Privacy in Shelters, State Buildings, Jails

Legislation,

On Monday, lawmakers filed legislation protecting people’s physical privacy and safety in certain shelters, in state and local jails, and in public buildings.

The measure is similar to a law Arkansas passed in 2023 to protect privacy in public schools and on overnight school trips.

S.B. 486 by Sen. Blake Johnson (R — Corning) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R — Perryville) protects physical privacy and safety of Arkansans in showers, locker rooms, changing rooms, restrooms, and sleeping quarters in government buildings and in state and local jails.

The bill also applies to changing rooms, restrooms, and sleeping quarters in shelters for victims of domestic violence.

S.B. 486 would require these facilities to be designated for “male” or “female” use. The bill generally requires people to use the facility that corresponds to their biological sex.

Over the years, we have seen efforts to house men with women in jails, let men stay in women’s shelters, and give men access to women’s changing areas, locker rooms, showers, and restrooms.

S.B. 486 is common sense legislation narrowly tailored to protect physical privacy and safety in public buildings and shelters in Arkansas.

You Can Read The Bill Here.

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

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Lawmakers in 19 Other States are Considering Legislation Like These Good Bills Filed in Arkansas

Legislation, , , ,

Lawmakers in 19 other states reportedly are considering fetal development education measures that are similar to good bills filed in Arkansas.

H.B. 1180 by Rep. Mary Bentley (R — Perryville) and Sen. Clint Penzo (R — Springdale) makes it possible for public school students to see a recording of a high-definition ultrasound video as part of sex-education and human fetal growth and development education courses.

The bill also lets students see a video like Live Action’s computer-animated “Meet Baby Olivia” video that teaches about human development from conception to birth.

S.B. 450 by Sen. Breanne Davis (R — Russellville) and Rep. Kendra Moore (R — Lincoln) also makes it possible for public school students to see a recording of a high-definition ultrasound video as part of human fetal growth and development education courses and learn important facts about how unborn children develop in the womb.

Both of these good bills are on the Senate Education Committee’s agenda this week.

Last week our friends at Live Action issued an email statement indicating that lawmakers in 20 states are considering bills similar to H.B. 1180 and S.B. 450, writing,

Arkansas, Texas, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, New Hampshire, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, West Virginia, Missouri, Montana, Indiana, Hawaii, Arizona, Kansas, Florida, and Nebraska are working to advance “Baby Olivia” bills to show students the miracle of human life in the womb from fertilization to birth! They hope to join North Dakota and Tennessee as states that already require education on human development in the womb.

Ultrasound images and educational tools like the “Meet Baby Olivia” video can help demonstrate the humanity of unborn children. As Live Action says, “Abortion becomes unthinkable when these facts are known.”

Below is the “Meet Baby Olivia” video by Live Action. H.B. 1180 would let public schools show a video like this one to students as part of human fetal growth and development education.

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

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Arkansas House Overwhelmingly Passes Bill to Protect Women and Children from Abortion Drugs

Abortion, , , ,

In what may be a record-setting vote, the state House of Representatives passed a good bill last week clarifying that abortion by fraud is a crime in Arkansas.

H.B. 1551 by Rep. Jimmy Gazaway (R — Paragould) makes it a felony to try to kill an unborn child by secretly giving a pregnant woman abortion-inducing drugs without her knowledge or consent.

Right now abortion in Arkansas is generally prohibited except to save the life of the mother, and it is illegal to deliver abortion-inducing drugs into the state. Arkansas also has laws prohibiting fetal homicide.

However, Arkansas has no specific law addressing situations in which a person secretly gives abortion drugs like RU-486 to a pregnant woman.

In 2022 abortion drugs were secretly placed in Catherine Herring’s water in order to cause the death of her unborn child.

Ms. Herring suffered serious health complications and had to be hospitalized as a result. Since then, states have begun proposing laws like H.B. 1551 to prevent this type of crime.

Last Thursday the Arkansas House of Representatives passed H.B. 1551 by a vote of 99 to 0. That may be a state record. We are not aware of any other pro-life measure in Arkansas history that received that much support.

H.B. 1551 is a good bill that will help protect women and unborn children from dangerous abortion drugs. It now goes to the Arkansas Senate for consideration.

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

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