Arkansas Legislature – Page 13

Senate Committee Passes Good Religious Freedom Measure

Apr 5, 2023Jerry CoxReligious FreedomArkansas Legislature, Conscience, Religious Freedom, Religious Liberty

On Wednesday the Senate Judiciary Committee passed a bill strengthening Arkansas’ religious freedom laws.

H.B. 1615, the Conscience Protection Act by Rep. Robin Lundstrum (R — Elm Springs) and Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R — Branch), makes important clarifications to the state Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

The bill also helps prohibit religious discrimination against individuals, business owners, and organizations that want to follow their deeply held religious convictions.

In 2015 Gov. Hutchinson signed Arkansas’ Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law. That good law has been on the books for the past eight years — but it needs to be improved upon.

Over the past decade, we have seen wedding venues, bakeries, photography studios, and florist shops come under fire, because their owners wanted to operate according to their deeply held convictions.

Our laws must protect religious liberty as much as possible. H.B. 1615 improves on good state law to help prevent the government from burdening the free exercise of religion in Arkansas.

If enacted, H.B. 1615 would provide Arkansans with some of the best religious freedom protections in the nation.

H.B. 1615 has already passed in the Arkansas House of Representatives, where it received very strong support. The bill now goes to the entire Arkansas Senate for a vote.

House Education Committee Passes Bill to Keep Pro-Abortion Groups Out of Public Schools

Apr 5, 2023Jerry CoxAbortionAbortion, Arkansas Legislature, Life, Pro-life, Sanctity of Human Life

On Tuesday the House Education Committee passed a measure that will help keep pro-abortion groups out of Arkansas’ public schools.

S.B. 466 by Sen. Jim Dotson (R – Bentonville) and Rep. Sonia Barker (R – Smackover) says that a public school or open-enrollment public charter school shall not knowingly enter into any type of transaction with an individual or entity that offers or provides abortion referrals.

Arkansas law already prevents schools from contracting with organizations that perform abortions.

Now that Arkansas generally prohibits abortion except to save the life of the mother, state law needs to clarify that public schools won’t contract with pro-abortion groups like Planned Parenthood that refer women to abortion facilities out of state.

S.B. 466 is a good bill that will help keep public schools from working with pro-abortion organizations in Arkansas.

The Arkansas Senate already has passed this good bill.

S.B. 466 now goes to the entire Arkansas House of Representatives for a vote.

Arkansas House Passes Pro-Life Measure

Apr 5, 2023Jerry CoxAbortionAbortion, Arkansas Legislature, Life, Pro-life, Sanctity of Human Life

On Tuesday the Arkansas House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed a good bill that would help protect women’s health and clarify Arkansas’ abortion restrictions.

H.B. 1786 by Rep. Aaron Pilkington (R – Knoxville) and Sen. Clint Penzo (R – Springdale) is a good, pro-life bill that specifies that abortions performed to save the life of the mother must take place in a hospital or emergency room.

This bill will help clarify Arkansas’ restrictions on abortion, and it will protect women’s health by ensuring that any abortion performed to save the mother’s life takes place in a facility that is properly equipped to handle medical emergencies.

H.B. 1786 now goes to the Arkansas Senate for consideration.