Arkansas Tops List of States With Pro-Life Victories in 2021: AUL Report

On Monday one of the nation’s leading pro-life organizations, Americans United for Life, released its 2021 report on state legislative sessions.

The report highlighted pro-life victories and setbacks at state legislatures across the country.

The report indicated that Arkansas passed 15 measures this year protecting unborn children — more than any other state.

The measures listed in AUL’s report were:

HB 1116 “Simon’s Law” outlining parental consent with regards to end-of-life decisions for minors

HB 1195 “Every Mom Matters Act” which creates a phone program for support services

HB 1402 amending the “abortion-inducing drugs safety act” to require a physician examine the woman to confirm pregnancy, provide RhoGAM if necessary, and schedule a follow up with the woman to ensure the pregnancy is terminated

HB 1544 affirming the right of cities to declare themselves “pro-life cities”

HB 1572 “Informed Consent for Chemical Abortion Act” requiring informed consent 72 hours before the abortion, including risks and complications, information on post-abortion care and Rhincompatibility, and literature on human trafficking. The bill also updates reporting requirements to include information on chemical abortion

HB 1589 prohibiting the use of taxpayer resource transactions for abortions

HB 1592 prohibiting public schools from contracting with any entity that provides abortions

SB 6 “Unborn Child Protection Act” abolishing abortion in the state

SB 85 “Right to Know and See Act” amending the right to view ultrasound

SB 152 amending the authority of PA’s, but prohibiting the delegated authority to perform an abortion

SB 289 “Medical Ethics and Diversity Act” expanding healthcare rights of conscience

SB 388 requiring that all clinics, health centers, and facilities that do ANY abortions be licensed by the state, and prohibiting abortions in a hospital except to save the life of the mother in a medical emergency

SB 463 collecting data on abortions done for rape/incest and sending all abortion data collected under state law to the CDC and making it publicly available

SB 474 creating the criminal offense of fertility fraud

SB 527 requiring abortion facilities to post information about sex trafficking; mandating that abortion facilities enter into a written agreement with a licensed acute care hospital and ambulance service to provide complication management/emergency transfer

The Arkansas Legislature passed a record number of pro-life laws this year — and many other excellent measures as well.

Arkansans should be proud of their elected officials. The General Assembly passed and Governor Hutchinson signed some of the best laws in the country this year. Arkansas has become a true leader in America when it comes to passing good, conservative legislation. These new laws are proof of that.

Newborn Saved Via Safe Haven Baby Box in Maumelle

A newborn baby was saved in Arkansas last week thanks to a Safe Haven Baby Box recently installed at a fire station in Maumelle.

In a press release from Arkansas Right to Life, Monica Kelsey, the founder of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, confirmed, “A healthy newborn baby was safely, legally and anonymously surrendered in a Safe Haven Baby Box at Fire Department Station 1 in Maumelle, Arkansas last week.”

The Safe Haven Baby Box in Maumelle was installed on October 10, 2021 — less than a month ago.

Arkansas’ Safe Haven Act of 2001 lets a woman surrender her newborn baby to law enforcement, medical personnel, and first responders. The law gives women with unplanned pregnancies an option besides abortion, and it protects newborns from being abandoned.

Similar laws are on the books in all 50 states.

Safe Haven Baby Boxes like the one in Maumelle can be installed at fire stations. They allow a woman to surrender her infant legally, safely, and anonymously using a specialized, hospital-grade bassinet that keeps the baby secure while a silent alarm notifies first responders inside the fire station that the baby is there.

This is an amazing, pro-life story.

Arkansas Right to Life currently is leading a billboard campaign to raise awareness about the state’s Safe Haven law. We look forward to that law saving the lives of other children in the future.

White County Quorum Court Quietly Passes Resolution Declaring County is Pro-Life

Over the weekend Family Council learned that the White County Quorum Court recently passed a resolution declaring the county is Pro-Life.

County officials passed the resolution in September, but it received relatively little news media attention at the time.

This year Arkansas enacted Act 392 of 2021 by Rep. Kendon Underwood (R – Cave Springs) and Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R – Branch). This excellent law affirms that cities, towns, and counties in Arkansas can designate themselves as Pro-Life.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that municipalities can adopt pro-life policy positions. That means any city, town, or county can pass a pro-life resolution like White County’s.

This year Arkansas has added several Pro-Life Communities — including Washington, Benton, CrawfordCleburnePopeJacksonSalineFaulknerPerry, Sebastian and Lee counties.

The City of Mariana, the City of Russellville, and the City of Springdale have passed resolutions affirming that they are Pro-Life as well.

We know from public opinion polling that the vast majority of Arkansans believe abortion ought to be either completely illegal or legal only under certain circumstances. With that in mind, it makes sense that communities in Arkansas would vote to affirm that they are Pro-Life.

We look forward to future communities passing their own resolutions declaring that they are Pro-Life — just like White County and these other municipalities have done.

If you would like to learn more about how you can pass a pro-life resolution in your community, give us a call at (501) 375-7000 or click here.