New York Celebrates Most Radical Pro-Abortion Law in Recent History

On the anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s infamous Roe v. Wade abortion decision, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo signed arguably the most radically pro-abortion law in recent history.

The law effectively legalizes abortion on demand all the way up until birth.

Supporters of the law point out that the law restricts many abortions to those performed to save the “life or health” of the mother, but as we have seen over the past four decades, health exceptions in abortion laws are so broad that in the court’s mind practically anything — including stress, depression, anxiety, the woman’s age, her family status — can warrant a “health” exception for an abortion. In other words, this law permits abortion on demand.

But perhaps even more radical than the law itself is the way legislators rose to their feet applauding the governor and celebrating its passage.

Just a few years ago, many of abortion’s supporters treated abortion like some sort of necessary evil that should be “safe, legal, and rare.” Today, however, we have groups cheering for legislation that lets doctors, nurse practitioners, and midwives poison and dismember unborn children in utero on demand and at any stage of development.

Legislatively, New York’s radical law is an anomaly. Most states — including Arkansas — actually are tightening restrictions on abortion and are working to eliminate the practice altogether.

We’ve seen record numbers of pro-life laws filed and passed in Arkansas in recent years, and those laws have saved hundreds of lives from abortion.

New York’s law also is wildly out of step with the rest of the country. Most Americans believe abortion should be either completely illegal or legal only in certain circumstances. A recent poll shows 75% of Americans want abortion restricted to the first three months of pregnancy.

New York’s legislature might be moving the other direction, but across the country and here at home, we are winning the fight not only to make abortion illegal, but perhaps even more importantly to make abortion unthinkable.

Bill Filed to Clarify Casino Requirements

Today Sen. Breanne Davis (R – Russellville) filed S.B. 185 closing a potential loophole regarding casinos in Pope and Jefferson counties.

Last November Arkansas passed an amendment to the state constitution effectively converting the race tracks in Hot Springs and West Memphis into full-fledged casinos and permitting casinos in Pope and Jefferson counties, upon approval from local officials and the Arkansas Racing Commission.

The Arkansas Racing Commission is in the process of writing rules for the casinos and the application process companies must follow in applying for a license to operate casinos in those counties.

The outgoing Mayor of Russellville recently expressed support for a casino in the city, prompting questions about whether a local official’s support for a casino expired once he or she left office.

S.B. 185 clarifies that a company applying for a casino license must include a resolution or letter of support from the quorum court or current county judge with the application; if the casino will be located inside city limits, the application must include a letter of support from the current mayor as well.

This will prevent gambling corporations from trying to use the support of former judges or past mayors in their casino applications and make it a little more difficult for them to expand their gambling operations to Arkansas.

You can read S.B. 185 here.

Photo By Ralf Roletschek [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], from Wikimedia Commons.