Arkansas Senate Overwhelmingly Passes Bill to Keep Pro-Abortion Groups Out of Public Schools

Abortion, , , ,

On Thursday the Arkansas Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill to help keep pro-abortion groups out of 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 bill now goes to the Arkansas House of Representatives for consideration.

The Following Senators Voted For S.B. 466

  • Boyd
  • Bryant
  • Clark
  • Crowell
  • B. Davis
  • Dees
  • J. Dismang
  • J. Dotson
  • English
  • Flippo
  • Gilmore
  • K. Hammer
  • Hester
  • Hickey
  • Hill
  • Irvin
  • Johnson, B.
  • Johnson, M.
  • McKee
  • Payton
  • Penzo
  • Petty
  • Rice
  • Stone
  • Stubblefield
  • Sullivan
  • Wallace

The Following Senators Voted Against S.B. 466

  • Chesterfield
  • Flowers
  • Leding
  • Love
  • Murdock
  • Tucker

The Following Senators Did Not Vote

  • Caldwell
  • King

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Committee Advances Religious Freedom Legislation at Arkansas Capitol

Religious Freedom,
From left: Family Council President Jerry Cox discusses the Conscience Protection Act with two of its supporters, Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Greg Chafuen and attorney Bob Ballinger of the National Association of Christian Lawmakers, outside the House Judiciary Committee.

On Thursday the House Judiciary Committee passed a good bill enhancing protections for religious freedom in Arkansas.

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.

In 2015 Gov. Hutchinson signed Arkansas’ Religious Freedom Restoration Act into law. H.B. 1615 builds upon that good state law to clarify its language wording and help prevent the government from burdening the free exercise of religion.

H.B. 1615 also helps prohibit religious discrimination against individuals, business owners, and organizations that want to follow their deeply held religious convictions.

Christian-owned wedding venues, bakeries, photography studios, and florist shops have come under fire in state and federal court in recent years. That is why it is so important for our laws to protect religious liberty.

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

The bill now goes to the Arkansas House of Representatives for a vote.

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House Committee Defeats Effort to Weaken State Abortion Laws

Abortion, , , ,

On Thursday the House Judiciary Committee defeated a bad bill that would have added exceptions to Arkansas’ abortion laws.

H.B. 1670 by Rep. Ashley Hudson (D – Little Rock) would weaken Arkansas’ pro-life laws by creating an exception for abortion in cases of incest.

As we have said many times, rape and incest are evil, and any woman who is a victim of rape or incest is a victim in every sense of the word.

However, legislation like H.B. 1670 fails to acknowledge that the unborn child is totally innocent.

An unborn boy or girl has no control over how he or she was conceived. These are living human beings. It is not right to kill an unborn baby because the baby’s father was a rapist or committed incest.

We are thankful to the House Judiciary Committee members who voted against this bad bill.

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