Abortion Amendment Unclear On Who Would Be Able to Perform Abortions in Arkansas

Abortion,

This article is part of an ongoing series tracking the Arkansas Abortion Amendment of 2024 and examining its possible effects on state law.

The group Arkansans for Limited Government is collecting petition signatures to place the Arkansas Abortion Amendment on the November ballot.

If passed, the amendment would write abortion into the state constitution, allowing as many as 3,000 or more elective abortions in Arkansas every year.

The measure prevents the Arkansas Legislature from restricting abortion during the first five months of pregnancy, and it contains sweeping health exceptions for abortion throughout all nine months.

It also nullifies all state laws that conflict with the amendment — putting basic restrictions like parental consent and informed consent requirements in jeopardy.

The abortion amendment also does not say who would be authorized to perform abortions or where abortions could be performed.

For decades, Arkansas’ laws required abortionists to be licensed to practice medicine. Over the years, the Arkansas Legislature enacted other standards for abortionists — such as laws requiring abortionists to be board-certified or board eligible OB/GYNs or requiring some abortionists to have hospital admitting privileges.

Nothing in the Arkansas Abortion Amendment requires an abortionist to be licensed to practice medicine in Arkansas.

The amendment fails to say who would be authorized to perform abortions in Arkansas, if it passed. It also isn’t clear what authority the Arkansas Legislature would have to set licensing and safety standards for abortionists under this amendment.

The amendment also says abortions may be performed in clinics or hospitals, but the amendment is silent about where else abortions may be performed.

The amendment also does not require abortion facilities to meet any minimum health, safety, or licensure standards.

You can download a copy of the amendment here.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Arkansas Abortion Amendment Does Not Have Planned Parenthood’s Support: A.P.

Abortion,

This article is part of an ongoing series tracking the Arkansas Abortion Amendment of 2024 and examining its effects on state law.

Last week the Associated Press reported that the Arkansas Abortion Amendment does not have support from Planned Parenthood Great Plains — the abortion giant’s regional affiliate over Arkansas.

The Arkansas Abortion Amendment would legalize abortion by writing it into the Arkansas Constitution.

The measure prevents the Arkansas Legislature from restricting abortion during the first five months of pregnancy — which would potentially allow thousands of elective abortions in Arkansas every year.

It also contains sweeping health exceptions for abortion throughout all nine months, and it nullifies all state laws that conflict with the amendment — putting basic restrictions like parental consent and informed consent laws in jeopardy.

However, the Associated Press reports the amendment may not go far enough for Planned Parenthood, the nation’s leading abortion provider.

The A.P. writes,

The measure [in Arkansas] would bar laws banning abortion in the first 20 weeks of gestation and allow abortion later in pregnancy in cases of rape, incest, threats to the woman’s health or life, or if the fetus would be unlikely to survive birth. Because it allows limits as soon as 20 weeks, the proposal does not have the support of Planned Parenthood Great Plains, which includes Arkansas.

In December, the Arkansas Abortion Support Network expressed reservations about an earlier draft of the proposed abortion amendment in a statement online, indicating the group would prefer a ballot measure “that does not . . . limit abortion access in the state.”

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Pro-Lifers Form Official Campaigns to Defeat Arkansas Abortion Amendment

Abortion,

Pro-life organizations are organizing campaigns to defeat an abortion proposal in Arkansas.

The Arkansas Abortion Amendment would legalize abortion by writing it into the Arkansas Constitution.

The measure prevents the Arkansas Legislature from restricting abortion during the first five months of pregnancy — which would potentially allow thousands of elective abortions in Arkansas every year.

It also contains sweeping health exceptions for abortion throughout all nine months, and it nullifies all state laws that conflict with the amendment — putting basic restrictions like parental consent and informed consent laws in jeopardy.

Pro-life organizations in the state are pushing back and launching campaigns against the amendment.

The Arkansas Ethics Commission website indicates the group Arkansans for Common Sense filed a Statement of Organization on Friday, announcing it “will advocate the disqualification and defeat of the Arkansas Abortion Amendment of 2024.” The group’s members include pro-life leaders from Arkansas.

Last week the group NWA Coalition for Life also filed a Statement of Organization announcing it will advocate the defeat of the abortion amendment. The group includes pro-life leaders from the Northwest Arkansas area.

As we have written before, Arkansas Right to Life has announced a Decline to Sign campaign encouraging voters not to sign petitions for the amendment.

Ozark Right to Life, a local chapter of Arkansas Right to Life, is working against the measure as well, and pro-lifers have begun sharing information about the abortion amendment on social media.

You can download a copy of the abortion amendment here.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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