Two Good Bills Pass in Arkansas Senate Committees

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Sen. Jason Rapert (R – Conway) presents S.B. 149 in the Senate Public Health Committee meeting.

This morning Arkansas Senate committees passed two really good bills.

The first was S.B. 149 by Sen. Jason Rapert (R – Conway). This good bill prohibits abortion in Arkansas if Roe v. Wade is overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court.

S.B. 149 garnered a lot of testimony and discussion, but in the the end the Senate Public Health Committee passed the bill.

Arkansas aborts, on average, 3,000 – 4,000 children every single year. If the courts reverse Roe v. Wade, this good bill could save thousands of unborn children in Arkansas.

The second bill was S.B. 156 by Sen. Bob Ballinger (R – Berryville).

This good bill prevents public colleges and universities from squelching free speech on campus.

In some states students and faculty have faced discipline and discrimination for sharing their faith or expressing their deeply held convictions.

S.B. 156 helps prevent public colleges and universities from imposing these unconstitutional restrictions on students and faculty. It protects students’ rights to peacefully assemble, speak, share literature, and exchange ideas.

Sen. Bob Ballinger (R – Berryville) presents S.B. 156 in the Senate Education Committee meeting.

This morning S.B. 156 passed the Senate Education Committee.

These are two good bills that Family Council strongly supports.

S.B. 149 will save the lives of unborn children in Arkansas if the Supreme Court reverses Roe v. Wade, and S.B. 156 will protect the rights of students and faculty to speak and act on their convictions.

Both bills now go to the entire Arkansas Senate for a vote.

You can contact your state senator about these bills by calling (501) 682-2902.

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A Quick Look at the Arkansas Legislature

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A lot is happening at the Arkansas Legislature. Here’s a quick look at some of the bills that have been filed so far — including good bills, bad bills, and a few bills that simply are worth knowing about.

Good Bills

H.B. 1289: This good bill by Rep. Brandt Smith (R – Jonesboro) protects the rights of conscience of all healthcare workers and companies. This will prevent people and organizations from being forced to promote, participate in, or pay for medical procedures that violate their conscience — like abortion. Read The Bill Here.

S.B. 156: This good bill by Sen. Bob Ballinger (R – Berryville) and Rep. Dan Sullivan (R – Jonesboro) prevents public colleges and universities from infringing the free speech of students and faculty on campus. In other states, pro-life student groups have faced discrimination on college campuses, and universities have tried to squelch faith-based student groups. Arkansas State University in Jonesboro currently faces a lawsuit over a policy that relegates speech to certain “free speech zones” on campus; the policy has been heavily criticized, and many do not expect it to survive a legal challenge. S.B. 156 protects students and faculty from these types of restrictions. Read The Bill Here.

S.B. 149: This good bill by Sen. Jason Rapert (R – Conway) prohibits abortion in Arkansas if Roe v. Wade is ever overturned. Read The Bill Here.

S.B. 2: This good bill by Sen. Trent Garner (R – El Dorado) prohibits abortions performed because the baby has Down Syndrome. Read The Bill Here.

S.B. 3: This good bill by Sen. Trent Garner (R – El Dorado) requires abortionist to report complications arising from an abortion. Abortion carries a number of risks and consequences, and the reporting required by this bill will help Arkansas craft better pro-life laws in the future. Read The Bill Here.

S.B. 168: This good bill updates Arkansas’ Safe Haven Act. It lets a woman surrender her newborn to law enforcement personnel, fire department personnel, or medical personnel. Arkansas’ Safe Haven Act protects children from being abandoned, and it provides women with options besides abortion. Read The Bill Here.

Bad Bills

H.B. 1164 and H.B. 1290: These two bills by Rep. Aaron Pilkington (R – Clarksville) let pharmacists dispense oral contraceptives to women without a prescription from a doctor. Oral contraceptives carry a number of health risks — which is why women currently need a prescription from a doctor — and they can cause the death of an unborn child by preventing the unborn child from implanting and growing inside the mother’s womb. That’s why Family Council opposes both of these bills.
Read H.B. 1164 Here.
Read H.B. 1290 Here.

H.B. 1150: This bill expands the list of “qualifying conditions” in Arkansas’ marijuana amendment, making it even easier for people to use so-called “medical” marijuana. Marijuana is a blight on our communities, and Arkansas’ marijuana amendment already is too vague and open-ended. Marijuana needs to be restricted — not expanded. Read The Bill Here.

Other Noteworthy Bills

H.B. 1294: This bill by Rep. Jana Della Rosa (R – Rogers) gives officials discretion when prosecuting DUI cases. Some are concerned the bill may make it less likely that drunk drivers will be prosecuted. Read The Bill Here.

S.B. 190: This bill by Sen. Greg Leding (D – Fayetteville) creates a state license for genetic counselors in Arkansas. Genetic counseling gives some pro-life advocates pause, because it can be used to promote abortion — particularly in cases when the unborn baby may have Down Syndrome. Read The Bill Here.

How to Contact Your Legislators

You can leave a message about legislation for your state senator by calling the Arkansas Senate during normal business hours at (501) 682-2902.

You can leave a message about legislation for your state representative by calling the Arkansas House during normal business hours at (501) 682-6211.

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

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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.

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