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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A.G. Petitions to Move Abortion Case to Federal Court

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According to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge’s office petitioned to move an important case from state court to federal court after a Pulaski County judge temporarily blocked a pro-life law.

The case surrounds the Arkansas Woman’s Right to Know Act. This good law requires abortionists to give women all the facts about abortion — including abortion’s risks, consequences, and alternatives — and it requires abortionists to wait at least 48 hours before performing the abortion.

This gives women ample time to weigh their options and decide if they want to go through with the abortion.

Abortionists cannot charge women for the abortion or any services related to the abortion until the 48-hour reflection period is over.

In some states, abortion facilities have required women to pay ahead of time for an abortion or related services. This may cause women to feel financially obligated to have the abortion. Making the clinics wait 48 hours while the woman makes her decision is perfectly reasonable.

However, Planned Parenthood and Little Rock Family Planning Services apparently disagree.

Last year the facilities were cited for charging women ahead of time and collecting credit card information from patients prior to the end of the 48-hour reflection period.

The groups appealed to the State Board of Health. Last fall the board ruled the abortion facilities had violated state law.

After that decision, the groups appealed to Pulaski County Circuit Judge Tim Fox, who issued an order yesterday that blocked this good law from being enforced until the case is decided or a higher court intervenes.

The attorney general’s office petitioned a federal court yesterday to take up the case. A federal court could unblock the law — meaning the state would be able to enforce it. Given the fact a number of other states have similar laws on the books, the federal court system is also likely to uphold Arkansas’ law.

Hats off to the state’s attorneys for being so proactive with this case!

As I’ve said before, I don’t know of any attorney general in America who is doing more to defend the sanctity of life and protect women from abortion than Attorney General Leslie Rutledge.

Her office has won some major, pro-life victories in court over the past couple of years. This may be an opportunity for yet another win.

Photo Credit: By Brian Turner (Flickr: My Trusty Gavel) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

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