Video: One in Four Dutch Deaths Caused by Doctors
Euthanasia and assisted suicide have become so acceptable in Europe than 25% of deaths in Netherlands are now caused by doctors. The same problem could be coming to the U.S.
Bill Would Protect Free Speech on Public College Campuses in Arkansas
Today Sen. Bob Ballinger (R – Berryville) and Rep. Dan Sullivan (R – Jonesboro) filed S.B. 156, the Forming Open and Robust University Minds (FORUM) Act.
This good bill prevents public colleges and universities from squelching free speech on campus.
In some states students and faculty have faced discipline and discrimination for sharing their faith or expressing their deeply held convictions. In Jonesboro, Arkansas State University adopted policies restricting free speech to roughly 1% of campus and requiring students to obtain approval from university officials before engaging in free speech.
The restrictions prompted a lawsuit against the university. Last fall, U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos publicly criticized the university’s restrictions on free speech.
S.B. 156 helps prevent public colleges and universities from imposing these unconstitutional restrictions on students and faculty. It protects students’ rights to peacefully assemble, speak, share literature, and exchange ideas.
It requires public colleges and universities to adopt policies protecting free speech on campus.
S.B. 156 is carefully worded. It does not allow violent speech, riots, harassment, or other unlawful conduct. It equally protects everyone’s right to free speech under the First Amendment.
For several months, Family Council has been working with attorneys at Alliance Defending Freedom to bring this good legislation to Arkansas.
We applaud Senator Ballinger and Representative Sullivan for introducing this well-crafted Alliance Defending Freedom model bill.
You can leave a message for your State Senator at 501-682-2902 urging him or her to vote for S.B. 156 the FORUM Act.
You can leave a message for your State Representative at 501-682-6211 urging him or her to do the same.
Please thank the lead sponsors of this bill:
Senator Bob Ballinger: bob.ballinger@senate.ar.gov (870) 350-5175
Representative Dan Sullivan: dan.sullivan@arkansashouse.org (870) 275-2929
This bill could be debated in the Senate Education Committee as early as next week. We plan to keep you posted on its progress.
Photo Credit: “Old Main from the northwest, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas (autumn)” by Brandonrush – Own work. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported.
A.G. Petitions to Move Abortion Case to Federal Court
According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge’s office petitioned to move an important case from state court to federal court after a Pulaski County judge temporarily blocked a pro-life law.
The case surrounds the Arkansas Woman’s Right to Know Act. This good law requires abortionists to give women all the facts about abortion — including abortion’s risks, consequences, and alternatives — and it requires abortionists to wait at least 48 hours before performing the abortion.
This gives women ample time to weigh their options and decide if they want to go through with the abortion.
Abortionists cannot charge women for the abortion or any services related to the abortion until the 48-hour reflection period is over.
In some states, abortion facilities have required women to pay ahead of time for an abortion or related services. This may cause women to feel financially obligated to have the abortion. Making the clinics wait 48 hours while the woman makes her decision is perfectly reasonable.
However, Planned Parenthood and Little Rock Family Planning Services apparently disagree.
Last year the facilities were cited for charging women ahead of time and collecting credit card information from patients prior to the end of the 48-hour reflection period.
The groups appealed to the State Board of Health. Last fall the board ruled the abortion facilities had violated state law.
After that decision, the groups appealed to Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox, who issued an order yesterday that blocked this good law from being enforced until the case is decided or a higher court intervenes.
The attorney general’s office petitioned a federal court yesterday to take up the case. A federal court could unblock the law — meaning the state would be able to enforce it. Given the fact a number of other states have similar laws on the books, the federal court system is also likely to uphold Arkansas’ law.
Hats off to the state’s attorneys for being so proactive with this case!
As I’ve said before, I don’t know of any attorney general in America who is doing more to defend the sanctity of life and protect women from abortion than Attorney General Leslie Rutledge.
Her office has won some major, pro-life victories in court over the past couple of years. This may be an opportunity for yet another win.
Photo Credit: By Brian Turner (Flickr: My Trusty Gavel) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.