Bill Filed to Prohibit Fraudulent Fertility Treatment

Bioethics, Legislation, Legislature,

On Thursday Sen. Charles Beckham (R – McNeil) and Rep. Jimmy Gazaway (R – Paragould) filed S.B. 474.

This good bill prohibits fraud and abuse in fertility treatments.

Right now Arkansas law contains very few provisions to prevent someone from conducting fertility treatments that are fraudulent or abusive.

S.B. 474 changes that by making it a crime for a person or healthcare provider to use unauthorized human reproductive material in a fertility treatment. This prevents reproductive material from another person from being used without appropriate consent.

The bill also makes it a crime for individuals who perform fertility treatments to misrepresent the identity of the person who has donated the reproductive material for the treatment or to misrepresent the quality of the material or the treatment procedure.

This helps address situations in which a person or company who does fertility treatments lies about the donor or secretly uses material or treatment procedures that probably will not work.

S.B. 474 also makes it possible for a person who engages in fraudulent fertility treatments to be sued.

This bill will make much-needed improvements to Arkansas’ laws governing fertility treatments and protect Arkansans from fraudulent or abusive conduct.

Read The Bill Here.

READ MORE

Bill Filed to Maintain Fairness in Women’s Sports in Arkansas

1 CommentLegislation,
Sen. Irvin announces S.B. 354 at the Arkansas Capitol.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, February 25, 2021

On Thursday, the Arkansas Republican Women’s Caucus launched their Dream BIG legislative package. Senator Missy Irvin (R – Mountain View) and Representative Sonia Barker (R – Smackover) filed SB354, the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act as part of the legislative package they presented.

Family Council President Jerry Cox released a statement saying, “Senator Irvin has filed a great bill. All over the country we’ve seen biological males who claim to be female compete unfairly in women’s sports. Allowing males to compete in girls’ sports reverses almost 50 years of advances for women. Destroying girls’ athletics hampers girls’ abilities to compete for athletic scholarships and hurts their professional opportunities as adults. SB354 prevents this from happening in Arkansas.”

Cox said SB354 is necessary to preserve fairness in women’s sports and letting boys compete in girls’ sports puts girls at a distinct disadvantage. “Boys who compete against girls in athletics have a physical advantage. Science and common sense tell us male athletes generally are bigger, faster, and stronger. Their hearts and lungs are larger. They have denser bones and stronger muscles.”

Cox said we are pleased that the Arkansas Republican Women’s Caucus is pushing back against federal pressure to let boys compete against girls. “President Biden has already issued an executive order indicating his administration believes biological males should be able to compete against females in sports. We expect the federal government to pressure schools to let boys compete in girls’ athletics in the coming months. When that happens, this bill gives Arkansas’ public schools a tool they can use to push back.”

Family Council fully supports SB354. “The Fairness in Women’s Sports Act that Senator Irvin, Representative Barker, and the Arkansas Republican Women’s Caucus has filed is a great bill. We hope the Arkansas Legislature will pass it and Governor Hutchinson will sign it into law,” said Cox.

Family Council is a conservative education and research organization based in Little Rock.

###

READ MORE

Legislation Filed to Let Municipalities in Arkansas Declare Themselves Pro-Life

Abortion, Legislation, , ,

On Tuesday Rep. Kendon Underwood (R – Cave Springs) and Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R – Branch) filed H.B. 1544 letting municipalities in Arkansas declare themselves pro-life.

Under this bill, cities and towns would be able to pass a resolution designating themselves as a Pro-Life City.

H.B. 1544 outlines some of the findings and language that cities can put in their pro-life resolution.

The bill also clarifies that Pro-Life Cities can install signs or banners announcing that they are pro-life.

Currently, nothing in Arkansas law prevents a city from declaring itself a Pro-Life City, but H.B. 1544 writes a foundation for these pro-life resolutions into state law.

This is a really good bill that will help communities in Arkansas foster a culture of life.

One of Family Council’s goals for 2021 is to help Arkansans statewide designate their communities as Pro-Life Cities. H.B. 1544 will help make that happen.

Read the bill here.

READ MORE