Category: Abortion

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.

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More Pro-Life Legislation Filed in Arkansas

Today Sen. Cecile Bledsoe (R – Rogers) and Rep. Rebecca Petty (R – Rogers) filed S.B. 168 improving Arkansas’ Safe Haven Act.

Arkansas passed the Safe Haven Act in 2001 to make it possible for women to leave newborn children in the care of law enforcement agencies or medical providers, such as hospitals.

In other states, newborn babies have been abandoned in parks and public restrooms in hopes that someone would find and take care of them. The Safe Haven Act lets a woman surrender her newborn to law enforcement or medical personnel instead — without the possibility of criminal prosecution or endangering her child. Over the years other states have passed similar laws.

The Safe Haven Act helps protect the lives and safety of newborn babies. It also offers another option besides abortion to women with unplanned pregnancies.

S.B. 168 makes this good law even better by letting fire departments that are staffed twenty-four hours a day accept newborn babies as well. This will expand the number of locations where women can safely surrender a newborn, and will make it less likely that a child might be abandoned.

The bill also gives fire departments, law enforcement agencies, and medical facilities the option of installing specially designed and approved safety devices commonly called “safe haven boxes.”

These devices let women surrender their newborns safely and anonymously to licensed medical or law enforcement personnel, and have been used successfully in Indiana and elsewhere.

This is a good bill that our friends at Arkansas Right to Life strongly support.

The bill has been referred to the Senate Public Health Committee. We will keep you posted on its progress.

You can read S.B. 168 here.

You can leave a message for your State Senator regarding S.B. 168 at 501-682-2902.

You can leave a message for your State Representative at 501-682-6211.

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