State Supreme Court Rejects Arkansas Abortion Amendment

Abortion, , , ,
Above: Supporters celebrate as petitions for the abortion amendment arrive at the Arkansas Capitol Building on July 5.

The following is a press release from Family Council Action Committee.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, August 22, 2024

On Thursday, the Arkansas Supreme Court issued a decision effectively blocking the Arkansas Abortion Amendment of 2024 from the November ballot.

Family Council Action Committee Executive Director Jerry Cox said, “This is a good decision. The Arkansas Abortion Amendment is a deceptively worded measure that would write abortion into the state constitution. It legalizes unrestricted abortion for any reason during the first five months of pregnancy. Its various exceptions would allow abortions up to birth in many cases. The amendment does not contain any medical licensing or health and safety standards for abortion, and it does not require abortions to be performed by a physician or in a licensed medical facility. It even nullifies all state laws that conflict with the amendment — which means Arkansas may not be able to enforce basic regulations like parental-consent and informed-consent requirements or laws prohibiting taxpayer-funded abortion in the state. Even Roe v. Wade was not as extreme as this abortion measure.”

Cox applauded all of the groups and individuals who stopped the abortion amendment. “This radical abortion amendment might have made the ballot had it not been for all of the pro-life Arkansans who spread the word about it and had it not been for the Arkansans Secretary of State and Arkansas Attorney General being willing to enforce Arkansas’ ballot initiative laws. This campaign has revealed that Arkansas is home to a strong, pro-life community. Groups like Arkansas Right to Life, Family Council Action Committee, Stronger Arkansas, the Arkansas Faith and Ethics Council, and churches along with ministers, elected officials such as Governor Sanders, and many volunteers all came together to win this great victory. Secretary of State Thurston and Attorney General Griffin made the right call rejecting the abortion measure’s petitions. Today the Arkansas Supreme Court agreed. Arkansas’ women and unborn children will be protected from unrestricted abortion as a result. Arkansas remains the most pro-life state in America. That’s something to celebrate.”

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AR Supreme Court upholds the rule of law in AAA lawsuit

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The following is a press release from Arkansas Right to Life.

LITTLE ROCK – The Arkansas Supreme Court has upheld the rule of law concerning a lawsuit filed by Arkansans for Limited Government and their Arkansas Abortion Amendment (AAA), said Rose Mimms executive director of Arkansas Right to Life, in a statement following the decision.

Arkansas Right to Life was involved in multiple efforts to defeat the abortion amendment and will continue working to support pregnant mothers and their children through educational and outreach programs, she said.

“Arkansas has dodged a deadly assault on our women and children with the disqualification of the amendment for the 2024 ballot and we are extremely grateful to the court for their rejection of the amendment as the law required and for the reprieve that Arkansas women and their babies will enjoy for at least the next two years until they try again,” said Mimms.

The amendment sought to radically alter the Arkansas State Constitution by amending Section 2 Public Policy of Amendment 68: “The policy of Arkansas is to protect the life of every unborn child from conception until birth, as permitted by the Federal Constitution,” by adding “and the Constitution of the State of Arkansas,” said Mimms.

“This extreme measure would forever change the Arkansas Constitution to allow abortion up until birth and ‘all provisions of the Constitution, statutes, and common laws of this State to the extent inconsistent or in conflict with any provision of this Amendment are expressly declared null and void … that would prohibit, penalize, delay or restrict abortion services,’” Mimms said.

Mimms added, “In addition, the amendment forbids any future governmental actions to ensure the safety, health, and lives of pregnant women and newborns in Arkansas in an unregulated and unaccountable abortion industry in our state.

“Arkansas Right to Life will continue to partner with the Arkansas Department of Health, Arkansas Pregnancy Network, and churches throughout our state to provide every pregnant woman or girl with support and services that will work for healthy and happy outcomes for mothers, babies, and their families.”

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Future of Ballot Measures Remains Uncertain as 2024 Election Milestone Arrives

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The future of three ballot proposals remains unclear as Arkansas reaches one of its milestones deadline ahead of the 2024 elections.

Thursday, August 22, is the deadline for the Secretary of State to certify ballot measures to the counties for inclusion on the ballot for the November 2024 General Election.

The certification lets each of Arkansas’ 75 counties know which initiatives will appear on the General Election Ballot.

However, three ballot proposals are still up in the air. Below is a brief summary of each measure and a little information about where the measure stands.

Measure #1: The Casino Amendment

Local Voters in Charge is backing a measure that would repeal the Racing Commission’s authority to issue a casino license without local voter approval in a countywide election. On July 5 the group submitted petition signatures to place the amendment on the ballot, and the Arkansas Secretary of State subsequently certified the measure for the ballot.

However, the measure has been challenged in court, and it is unclear if the Arkansas Supreme Court will let it remain on the ballot.

Measure #2: The Marijuana Amendment

Arkansans for Patient Access is promoting the Arkan­sas Med­ical Marijuana Amend­ment of 2024. The measure rewrites much of the “medical” marijuana amendment that Arkansas enacted in 2016. The measure would let people use “medical” marijuana without suffering from a specific medical condition listed in state law.

The amendment would repeal state laws and regulations that protect children from marijuana marketing, and it would give free marijuana cards to immigrants and people from out of state who travel to Arkansas to use marijuana. It also fails to limit the amount of THC that marijuana products can contain.

Arkansans for Patient Access submitted petition signatures to place its marijuana amendment on the ballot last month. Placing an initiative on the ballot requires 90,704 valid signatures from registered voters.

On July 31 the Secretary of State determined the group did not have enough signatures to make the ballot, but had submitted enough to qualify for a 30-day extension to collect additional petition signatures.

The group is expected to submit additional petition signatures next week.

Measure #3: The Abortion Amendment

Arkansans for Limited Government is pushing to place the Arkansas Abortion Amendment on the November ballot.

If passed, the measure would write abortion into the state constitution.

The Arkansas Abortion Amendment would prevent the State of Arkansas from restricting abortion during the first five months of pregnancy — which is more extreme than Roe v. Wade and would allow thousands of elective abortions on healthy women and unborn children every year.

The measure would automatically nullify all state laws that conflict with the amendment — jeopardizing basic abortion regulations like parental-consent and informed-consent requirements and paving the way for taxpayer-funded abortion in Arkansas.

The amendment does not contain any medical licensing or health and safety standards for abortion, and it does not require abortions to be performed by a physician or in a licensed medical facility.

The measure also contains various exceptions that would permit abortion up to birth in many cases.

Last month, Arkansans for Limited Government submitted petition signatures to place the Arkansas Abortion Amendment on the ballot. Bringing the amendment up for a vote would require at least 90,704 valid signatures from registered voters.

However, Secretary of State John Thurston disqualified every petition filed to place the abortion measure on the ballot, because the sponsors failed to provide affidavits that state law requires concerning paid petition canvassers.

By law, ballot initiative sponsors must file a statement confirming that each paid canvasser was given a copy of the state’s initiative and referenda handbook as well as an explanation of relevant state laws before he or she solicited petition signatures. The sponsors backing the abortion measure failed to file this specific documentation when they submitted the petitions for the abortion amendment. That prompted the Secretary of State to reject all of the petitions.

Arkansans for Limited Government subsequently filed a lawsuit against Secretary of State Thurston. The case is currently pending before the state supreme court.

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

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