Arkansas Gets Its Fourth Safe Haven Baby Box

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On Monday pro-lifers in Arkansas unveiled the state’s fourth Safe Haven Baby Box — this time at a fire station in Jonesboro.

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 an option besides abortion.

Similar laws are on the books in all 50 states.

Act 185 of 2019 by Sen. Cecile Bledsoe (R – Rogers) and Rep. Rebecca Petty (R – Rogers) improved Arkansas’ Safe Haven law; it lets fire stations install Safe Haven Baby Boxes where women can anonymously place their newborn.

Safe Haven Baby Boxes installed at fire stations let women surrender a child safely and anonymously using a specialized drop-box designed to keep the baby secure while notifying the first responders inside the fire station that the baby is there.

Right now there are at least 62 Safe Haven Baby Boxes in operation nationwide — including four in Arkansas.

These Safe Haven Baby Boxes are amazing pieces of pro-life technology. It’s good to see communities like Jonesboro make them available to Arkansans.

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Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson Signs Law to Keep Planned Parenthood Out of Public Schools

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On Wednesday Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson signed H.B. 1592, the Student Protection Act, into law.

This good law by Rep. Mark Lowery (R – Maumelle) prohibits public schools in Arkansas from engaging in transactions with abortion providers. It passed the Arkansas Legislature with strong support.

In March, Family Council obtained nearly 1,400 pages of documents that revealed how Planned Parenthood has worked in public schools in Pulaski County for several years.

We know from experience that the kind of sex-education that Planned Parenthood promotes simply is not as effective as other programs.

In the 1980s and 1990s liberals in Arkansas promoted Planned Parenthood-style sex-education in Arkansas’ public schools.

From 1991 to 1997 Arkansas’ teen birthrate decreased by 11% and Arkansas teen abortion rate decreased by 18%.

In 1997 the Arkansas Legislature and the Mike Huckabee Administration began promoting abstinence education in Arkansas.

From 1997 to 2005, Arkansas’ teen birthrate decreased 17%, but Arkansas’ teen abortion rate plummeted a staggering 48%.

Governor Huckabee’s abstinence education model was so successful in Arkansas that it drew national recognition.

In 2016 — while President Barack Obama was still in office — the federal Centers for Disease Control released a 208-page report concluding teenagers who practice abstinence are healthier in nearly every way than teenagers who are sexually active.

The CDC’s report looked at everything from seatbelt and bike helmet use to substance abuse, diet, exercise, and even tanning bed use.

Their conclusion was that sexually-active teens were less healthy and engaged in riskier behavior across the board.

H.B. 1592 will help make sure that abortionists don’t have access to Arkansas’ public school students, and it will help encourage schools to seek out better sex-ed curricula than what Planned Parenthood has to offer.

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Arkansas Governor Signs Abortion Reporting Bill Into Law

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On Wednesday Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson signed S.B. 463 into law.

The bill is now Act 787 of 2021. It previously passed the Arkansas House and Arkansas Senate with strong support.

This good law by Sen. Blake Johnson (R – Corning) and Rep. Tony Furman (R – Benton) requires the State of Arkansas to provide abortion data to the federal Centers for Disease Control for statistical purposes.

It also tightens Arkansas law concerning abortion facility inspections, and it requires abortionists to file certain documentation when the woman is a victim of rape or incest.

This is a good law that will provide additional protections for rape victims, and it will help strengthen Arkansas’ existing pro-life laws.

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