Arkansas A.G. Will Ask Higher Court to Let the State Prohibit Abortions

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March for Life 2015, Washington D.C.

On Thursday Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge’s office appealed to the Eighth Circuit in a lawsuit over whether or not the state can prohibit abortions.

Act 309 of 2021 generally prohibits abortion in Arkansas except in cases when the mother’s life is in jeopardy. It is a good law that passed with overwhelming support from the state legislature earlier this year, and it was slated to take effect on July 28.

However, the ACLU filed a lawsuit over Act 309, and U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker blocked the law just days before it was set to take effect.

Now the attorney general is going to ask the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals to unblock the law.

A schedule produced by the Eighth Circuit indicates that the court will accept briefings in the case from the A.G.’s team and the ACLU throughout late September, October, and a good portion of November.

At this time we do not know when the court might issue a decision in the case.

Last June the A.G.’s team argued that pro-abortion rulings like Planned Parenthood v. Casey need to be reevaluated and overturned — and that the U.S. Supreme Court is liable to do that in its upcoming Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case out of Mississippi.

The A.G. also argued that past pro-abortion decisions like Roe v. Wade “were wrongly decided” and that “there is no doubt that the fetus is a human life — not mere tissue, not ‘potential life,’ and not ‘the product of conception.'”

The attorney general’s decision to appeal this lawsuit will give our federal courts an opportunity to reverse decades of bad case law on abortion.

That means there is potential for some landmark, pro-life victories down the road. Those victories could help stop abortion in Arkansas and elsewhere across the nation.

Photo Credit: American Life League, CC BY-NC 2.0, via Flickr.com. No changes were made to the image.

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Arkansas’ Cleburne, Crawford Counties Declare Themselves Pro-Life

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In the past week two counties in Arkansas have enacted resolutions declaring themselves pro-life.

On Thursday the Cleburne County Quorum Court adopted a pro-life resolution. The resolution reads,

WHEREAS, the Declaration of Independence declares that all men are created equal, and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, including the right to life; and

WHEREAS, Amendment 68 to the Arkansas Constitution states that the policy of the State of Arkansas is to protect the life of every unborn child from conception until birth; and

WHEREAS, it is the duty of state and local governments to protect the unalienable right to life of every person within their respective jurisdictions; and

WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court stated in Poelker v. Doe, 432 U.S. 519 (1977), that the United States Constitution does not forbid a municipality, pursuant to democratic processes, from expressing a preference for normal childbirth instead of abortion.

Therefore, let it be resolved that it be the policy of Cleburne County, Arkansas, to promote and protect the dignity and humanity of all persons, at all stages of life from conception until natural death, and that Cleburne County, Arkansas, declares itself to be a Pro-Life County.

On Monday the Crawford County Quorum Court passed a similar resolution, reading,

WHEREAS, we affirm that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness; and,

WHEREAS, Crawford County desires to preserve its right to promotion and expression of its Pro-Life designation, as affirmed by Arkansas Act 392 of 2021; and,

WHEREAS Amendment 68 to the Constitution of the State of Arkansas makes clear that we are to protect the life of every unborn child from conception until birth, to the extent permitted by the Federal Government; and,

WHEREAS, it is the duty of governments, such as ours, to protect this unalienable right to life of every person within our jurisdiction.

NOW, THEREFOR, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE QUORUM COURT OF CRAWFORD COUNTY, ARKANSAS, that Crawford County, Arkansas, declares itself to be a Pro-Life County, committed to the protection of all lives, including the lives of the unborn.

Resolutions like these send a powerful, pro-life message. They leave no doubt about where Arkansas’ local leaders stand when it comes to abortion.

Earlier this year the Arkansas Legislature passed Act 392 of 2021 affirming that municipalities in Arkansas can designate themselves as Pro-Life.

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that municipalities can adopt pro-life policy positions like these resolutions.

The City of Springdale adopted a pro-life resolution in 2019, and Washington and Benton counties have passed pro-life resolutions this summer.

In fact, any city, town, or county in Arkansas can pass a pro-life resolution like the ones that these counties have passed.

Public opinion polling shows Arkansans are overwhelmingly pro-life. We hope other communities will pass their own pro-life resolutions in the coming weeks.

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.

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