Pro-Life Bill Passes Arkansas House; Call Your Senator!

Abortion, , , ,

capitol3-1This afternoon the Arkansas House of Representatives passed a good, pro-life bill.

HB1076 requires a doctor administering an abortion-inducing drug (like RU-486) to be present during the procedure. The bill comes as evidence continues to mount that abortion-inducing drugs are not being administered in accordance with FDA protocols, and will help curtail the expansion of chemical abortions.

The bill passed the Arkansas House of Representatives with 83 members of the House voting for the bill; 4 voting against the bill; 7 representatives not voting on the bill; and 6 members voting “Present.”

You can see a breakdown of the vote here.

If your representative voted for HB1076, be sure to contact him or her to say “Thank you.”

The bill now heads to the Arkansas Senate. Please be sure to contact your state senator, and ask him or her to vote for pro-life bill HB1076. You can leave a message for your senator at the Arkansas Capitol Building by calling (501) 682-2902.

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AG Opinion: Arkansas Legislature Controls Its Own Ethics Rulemaking

Legislature

House Health CommitteeWe have written before about Issue 3, which voters passed last November. Among other things, Issue 3 extended term limits for Arkansas’ legislators and put new ethics guidelines in the Arkansas Constitution.

One ballot proposal that did not garner very much attention, however, was Issue 1, which voters also passed last November.

Issue 1 made rules and regulations promulgated by state agencies subject to legislative review and approval.

On the surface, Issue 1 and Issue 3 seem to have very little to do with each other. One prescribes new ethics laws and extends term limits for legislators; the other increases accountability between the Arkansas Legislature and the state agencies operating under the Executive Branch of government.

Before leaving office this week, however, Attorney General Dustin McDaniel issued an opinion that connected Issue 1 and Issue 3: Together, Issue 1 and Issue 3 give the Arkansas Legislature a lot of authority over the ethics guidelines Issue 3 put in the Arkansas Constitution.

In a Nutshell

In a nutshell, here is what has happened:

  1. Besides extending term limits, Issue 3 outlined ethics guidelines for things like gifts to lawmakers from lobbyists.
  2. Issue 3 directed the Arkansas Ethics Commission to make rules implementing those ethics guidelines.
  3. Issue 1 gave the Arkansas Legislature authority over rules and regulations implemented by state agencies like the Arkansas Ethics Commission.
  4. This means the legislature controls the new ethics rules put out by the Arkansas Ethics Commission under Issue 3.
  5. Issue 3 also gives the Arkansas Legislature the power to change the ethics guidelines in the Arkansas Constitution with a 2/3 vote of the Arkansas House and Senate; no approval from voters is required.

In other words, Issue 3 directs the Arkansas Ethics Commission to implement new ethics guidelines, but Issue 1 gives the Arkansas Legislature authority over anything the Ethics Commission tries to implement.

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First Pro-Life Legislation of the Session Filed

Legislature, , , , , ,

Senator Missy Irvin and Representative Julie Mayberry have filed the first pro-life bills of the 2015 legislative session in Little Rock.

Senate Bill 53 and House Bill 1076 would require doctors performing a chemical abortion (using drugs such as RU-486) to be present during the procedure and make arrangements for a follow-up visit in the days after administering the drug.

Evidence from around the country suggests abortion-inducing drugs are increasingly being distributed without proper oversight from a doctor. This poses a serious threat to women’s health.

Abortion advocates often say abortion ought to be safe, legal, and rare. SB53 and HB1076 would help abortionists abide by that mantra and would curtail the proliferation of abortion-inducing drugs.

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