Arkansas’ Abortion Rate Cut In Half Since 2001: CDC Report

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A new report from the federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shows Arkansas’ abortion rate has been cut by more than half since the year 2001.

The abortion rate is calculated as the number of abortions performed in a state for every 1,000 women ages 15 – 44. It’s a way to measure how prevalent abortion is in a state by comparing the total number of abortions to the state’s female population.

In Arkansas’ case, the abortion rate was 11 abortions per 1,000 women ages 15 – 44 in 2001.

However, the CDC’s new report shows Arkansas’ abortion rate has fallen to 5.1 as of 2019.

Overall, Arkansas’ abortion rate has been in decline since the 1990s.

The CDC hasn’t released 2020 abortion data yet, but based on statistics the Arkansas Department of Health published last summer, Family Council estimates that Arkansas’ abortion rate may have increased slightly last year — from 5.1 in 2019 to 5.4 in 2020.

Even though Arkansas’ abortion rate may have risen slightly last year, it’s drastically lower than it was in the 1990s and early 2000s.

Slowly but surely Arkansans are winning the fight against abortion.

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U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton Introduces Measure to Expand Family Leave, Provide Tax Credit for Miscarriages and Stillbirths

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On Thursday U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (R – AR) and U.S. Sen. Ashley Hinson (R – IA) filed the HEALING Mothers and Fathers Act.

The proposed legislation amends the federal 1993 Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA).

Among other things, the measure adds “spontaneous loss of an unborn child” as a qualifying medical condition for leave under FMLA, and it establishes a $3,600 tax credit for any mother or couple that suffers the loss of a child in the womb.

The bill also prevents federal Title X funds from going to abortionists or to anyone who offers abortion referrals.

This would help stem the tide of taxpayer funds currently directed to organizations like Planned Parenthood.

Family Council has joined with Arkansas Right to Life, the National Right to Life Committee, and other pro-life organizations in endorsing this good measure.

Sen. Cotton issued multiple statements explaining the HEALING Mothers and Fathers Act , writing,

The Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) allows employees to take leave for serious health conditions. However, many miscarriages and still births fail to meet the definition for a ‘serious health condition’ under FMLA, meaning the mother and her spouse may not qualify for leave.

In the event of a still birth, parents are more likely to face unexpected financial costs. This is due to uninsured
expenses, costs associated with preparing for a baby, and in some cases, longer hospital stays, genetic testing
costs, and burial expenses.

No amount of financial compensation can take away a family’s pain. However, Congress can ensure that
grieving parents can take time to mourn the loss of their unborn child and ease additional costs they may face
in the event of still birth.

The HEALING Mothers and Fathers Act is similar to Arkansas’ Act 935 of 2021 — also known as Paisley’s Law — which the Arkansas Legislature enacted earlier this year.

Act 935 provides Arkansans with a $500 income tax credit for the stillbirth of a child at or after 20 weeks gestation.

Arkansas also has enacted legislation over the years to de-fund abortionists.

You can read the HEALING Mothers and Fathers Act here.

Photo Credit: Michael Vadon, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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Planned Parenthood Hopes to Perform Chemical Abortions in Rogers By Early Spring

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Above: Planned Parenthood’s new facility in Rogers.

On Wednesday Planned Parenthood Great Plains, the regional affiliate for Planned Parenthood in Arkansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Kansas, announced it intends to begin performing chemical abortions using the RU-486 abortion drugs at its new facility in Rogers, Arkansas, by sometime in the early spring of 2022.

Family Council President Jerry Cox issued a statement saying, “Today’s announcement isn’t surprising. Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest abortion provider, and the group has said since 2019 that it wants to open an abortion center in Northwest Arkansas. Planned Parenthood worked through a separate LLC to secretly acquire a facility in Rogers. That center opened for business in September. Planned Parenthood officials had originally said they wanted to begin performing abortions in Rogers by the end of this year. Now it seems they have delayed until the spring of next year.”

Cox said the community in Northwest Arkansas clearly opposes Planned Parenthood’s agenda. “Since August we’ve seen hundreds of pro-lifers from Northwest Arkansas gather to peacefully oppose abortion outside Planned Parenthood’s facility in Rogers. Pro-lifers just wrapped up a series of prayer vigils outside the facility that lasted forty days. Lawmakers and leaders in the community have held public events opposing abortion in Rogers. And the University of Arkansas recently released a poll that indicates most Arkansans think abortion ought to be either completely illegal or restricted to certain situations. Arkansans do not support abortion on demand, and yet that’s what Planned Parenthood wants to bring to Northwest Arkansas.”

Cox said that pro-life groups will continue working to end abortion in Arkansas. “Arkansas has more than forty pregnancy resource centers that give women real options besides abortion. Our state is home to multiple pro-life organizations, and we arguably have the most pro-life General Assembly in the country. Arkansas was recently ranked the most pro-life state in the nation. We are fully committed to ending abortion in our state and giving women with unplanned pregnancies the resources they need to choose an option besides abortion.”

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