A newborn baby was saved in Arkansas last week thanks to a Safe Haven Baby Box recently installed at a fire station in Maumelle.
In a press release from Arkansas Right to Life, Monica Kelsey, the founder of Safe Haven Baby Boxes, confirmed, “A healthy newborn baby was safely, legally and anonymously surrendered in a Safe Haven Baby Box at Fire Department Station 1 in Maumelle, Arkansas last week.”
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 with unplanned pregnancies an option besides abortion, and it protects newborns from being abandoned.
Similar laws are on the books in all 50 states.
Safe Haven Baby Boxes like the one in Maumelle can be installed at fire stations. They allow a woman to surrender her infant legally, safely, and anonymously using a specialized, hospital-grade bassinet that keeps the baby secure while a silent alarm notifies first responders inside the fire station that the baby is there.
This is an amazing, pro-life story.
Arkansas Right to Life currently is leading a billboard campaign to raise awareness about the state’s Safe Haven law. We look forward to that law saving the lives of other children in the future.
Lee County Judge Terry Sandefer signed the pro-life resolution Tuesday night following passage at the quorum court’s meeting.
On Tuesday night the Lee County Quorum Court passed a resolution affirming that the county is Pro-Life.
The resolution reads,
A RESOLTUION AFFIRMING THE COMMITMENT OF THE COUNTY OF LEE, ARKANSAS TO PROTECTING THE UNALIENABLE RIGHT TO LIFE OF EVERY PERSON; AND DECLARING THE COUNTY OF LEE, ARKANSAS TO BE A PRO-LIFE COUNTY.
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;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Quorum Court of the County of Lee, Arkansas:
Section 1: It is the policy of the County of Lee to promote and protect the dignity and humanity of all persons at all stages of life from conception until natural death.
Section 2: The County of Lee declares itself to be a Pro-Life County.
The Arkansas Legislature passed Act 392 of 2021 by Rep. Kendon Underwood (R – Cave Springs) and Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R – Branch) last spring. This excellent law affirms that cities, towns, and counties in Arkansas can designate themselves as Pro-Life.
As Lee County’s pro-life resolution notes, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that municipalities can adopt pro-life policy positions. That means any city, town, or county can pass a pro-life resolution like the ones that these communities have passed.
We know from public opinion polling that the vast majority of Arkansans believe abortion ought to be either completely illegal or legal only under certain circumstances. With that in mind, it makes sense that communities in Arkansas would vote to affirm that they are Pro-Life.
We look forward to future communities passing their own resolutions declaring that they are Pro-Life — just like Lee County and these other municipalities have done.
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 or click here.
Above: A copy of the resolution passed at the Lee County Quorum Court meeting on October 26., 2021
Title X of the Public Health Services Act provides federal funding for family planning services in America. However, the law contains a provision saying that the funds cannot be used for abortions.
To get around this provision in the law, abortionist like Planned Parenthood have been able to receive Title X funds, provided that they did not use the money to perform abortions.
However, we have long argued that giving groups like Planned Parenthood any federal funding at all helps subsidize their abortion business. If the money ultimately ends up at an abortion facility, it just makes it easier for them to fund and operate that facility.
In 2019 the Trump Administration closed this loophole with its Protect Life Rule.
The Protect Life Rule required “clear financial and physical separation between Title X-funded projects and programs or facilities where abortion is a method of family planning.”
This meant that Title X money couldn’t be used to fund family planning programs at an abortion facility like Planned Parenthood.
In October of 2021 the Biden Administration repealed the Trump Administration’s good rule and reinstituted the old policy that made it possible for abortionists to receive Title X funds.
On Monday, the States of Ohio, Arkansas, Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and West Virginia all filed a lawsuit in federal court arguing that the Biden Administration’s rule change is arbitrary, capricious, and contrary to federal law.
It’s good to see Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge and her team continuing to take a strong stand against the Biden Administration’s pro-abortion policies.
If successful, this lawsuit could block federal funds from going to abortion providers like Planned Parenthood under Title X. That would be a huge victory.
