Church Ambassador Network Organizes Meeting with State Treasurer, Ministers

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Above: Arkansas Treasurer John Thurston (center) met with members of the Church Ambassador Network on Tuesday.

On Tuesday the Church Ambassador Network of Arkansas organized a meeting between elected leaders and ministers.

The Church Ambassador Network is a nonpartisan initiative of Family Council designed to build relationships between ministry leaders and community leaders. Our goal is for elected officials to see churches as a resource that can address many of the problems that communities face.

On Tuesday, ministers from Antioch Community Church in Little Rock were able to meet with Treasurer John Thurston and with state senators.

In a statement posted on Facebook, Treasurer Thurston wrote:

Many Americans do not fully appreciate how much churches do for their communities. Nationwide, researchers estimate that churches, ministries, and religious charities provide hundreds of billions of dollars worth of services every year.

Our Arkansas Church Ambassador Network currently has about 400 churches in it. In the coming months, we want to help elected officials and churches work together to address issues like foster care, fatherless homes, addiction, and human trafficking in Arkansas.

If you help lead a church or similar ministry in Arkansas, we would invite you to join the Church Ambassador Network for free today.

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

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Bill Filed to Protect Women and Children from Abortion Drugs

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New legislation proposed in Arkansas would clarify that abortion by fraud is a crime.

H.B. 1551 by Rep. Jimmy Gazaway (R — Paragould) makes it a felony to secretly give 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 a Texas man placed abortion drugs in his pregnant wife’s water in order to cause the death of her unborn child, according to the Associated Press. Since then, states have begun proposing laws like H.B. 1551 to prevent this type of crime.

Abortion-inducing drugs take the life of an unborn child. They also carry significant health risks for women — including risks of sepsis and death. In some cases, abortion drugs actually can be more dangerous for women than surgical abortion procedures.

Our laws should do everything possible to protect women and unborn children from these dangerous drugs. H.B. 1551 is a good bill that will help do exactly that. You Can Read H.B. 1551 Here.

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A.I. Accountability: Lawmakers File Measures Addressing Deepfake Pornography, Child Sexual Abuse Material

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New legislation at the capitol would help address AI-generated pornography in Arkansas.

H.B. 1518 by Rep. Stephen Meeks (R — Greenbrier) and Sen. Missy Irvin (R — Mountain View) makes it a crime to create, distribute, possess, or view AI-generated sexual material depicting children.

H.B. 1529 by Rep. Stephen Meeks (R — Greenbrier) and Sen. Clint Penzo (R — Springdale) prohibits people from using artificial intelligence to create and distribute “deepfake” pornographic images depicting another individual without that individual’s consent.

In 2001 the Arkansas Legislature passed Act 1496 addressing computer exploitation of a child. The law generally makes it a felony to produce or reproduce child sexual abuse material “by computerized means.”

At the time there was serious discussion about how computers and computer software could be used to manufacture child sexual abuse material. Of course, in 2001 very few people could have imagined today’s artificial intelligence technology, but lawmakers recognized the need to address the issue — and Family Council supported the good law they passed.

Arkansas also has passed laws prohibiting people from distributing pornographic images of another person without the person’s consent, but the law does not address AI-generated images. News outlets have reported how deepfake pornography can be used to harass or intimidate victims. States are working to enact laws protecting innocent people from AI-generated pornography.

Artificial intelligence has advanced by leaps and bounds in recent years. AI-generated pornography is now a serious concern. State laws must stay ahead of the technology. Measures like H.B. 1518 and H.B. 1529 help do that.

You Can Read H.B. 1518 Here. You Can Read H.B. 1529 Here.

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