Abortion – Page 282 – Family Council

Eighth Circuit Hands Down Another Pro-Life Victory

Aug 16, 2017Jerry Cox1 CommentAbortionAbortion, Life, Pro-life, Sanctity of Human Life

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, August 16, 2017

On Wednesday a three judge panel from the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Arkansas can decline to provide Medicaid reimbursements to abortion providers. The ruling comes as part of an ongoing lawsuit filed after the State of Arkansas cut Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood in 2015.

Family Council President Jerry Cox issued a statement saying, “The Eighth Circuit did the right thing today. Arkansans have made it clear time and again they do not want tax money going to abortion providers. Many Arkansans have moral objections to abortion. They don’t want their hard-earned money subsidizing abortion providers.”

Cox praised Governor Asa Hutchinson and Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge for defending the state’s decision to cut Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood. “Governor Hutchinson’s bold leadership is what led the state to cut ties with Planned Parenthood in the first place. Our governor has always been a staunch pro-life advocate. Arkansas’ attorney general is defending at least seven pro-life laws and policies in court right now. I don’t know of any attorney general in America who is doing more to fight for the right to life. Her team has won some major victories in the past few weeks, and I believe we will see more in the months to come.”

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

Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Writes Brilliant Editorial on Abortion

Aug 1, 2017Jerry CoxAbortionAbortion, Life, Pro-life, Sanctity of Human Life

The editors at the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette published an op-ed today that is nothing short of brilliant.

The editorial, which I encourage you to read by clicking here, it titled, “The abortionist’s song.” It addresses U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker’s decision to enjoin four good, pro-life laws the Arkansas Legislature passed earlier this year.

The editors open the column by writing,

It could be a Roman spectacle, only instead of the madding crowd cheering as Christians are fed to the lions, Arkansas’ abortionists are hailing a federal judge’s opinion halting certain abortion restrictions on the least and most innocent of these, the unborn. Their lives will continue to be snuffed out even before they first see the light of day. Not only is this darkness so thick it can be felt now to descend on this state’s jurisprudence, but–irony of ironies–it is hailed as a bright shining light.

The beginning of wisdom may be to call things by their right names, but this ruling by a federal judge mistakes abortion for a new freedom: the freedom to kill. The ruling by Her Honor Kristine Baker kept three new anti-abortion laws from taking effect in this increasingly (un)Natural State. . . .

Talk about powerful! This is a column every pro-life Arkansan needs to read. Pick up a copy of today’s paper, or click here to read it online.

Federal Judge Issues Late-Night Ruling Against Pro-Life Laws

Jul 31, 2017Jerry CoxAbortionAbortion, Life, Pro-life, Sanctity of Human Life

Shortly before midnight on Friday U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker issued a preliminary injunction against four pro-life laws the Arkansas Legislature passed last spring.

We have written extensively about these laws and what they do. You can read our response to the ACLU’s legal challenges against the laws here.

It is unfortunate one judge would take it upon herself to block good laws the Arkansas Legislature passed with overwhelming, bipartisan support.

These laws help prevent companies from buying or selling organs harvested from aborted babies. They ensure aborted babies are respectfully buried or cremated. They help protect minors who may be victims of rape, incest, or human trafficking. They require doctors to request at least some of a woman’s medical records before performing an abortion. And they prohibit surgical abortion procedures in which an unborn baby is dismembered.

Judge Baker’s decision to block these four good, pro-life laws came just hours after a panel of judges from the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed a similar order Judge Baker handed down last year blocking a pro-life law from 2015. The panel faulted Judge Baker for failing to estimate the number of women who would actually be affected by the law before she decided to block it.

The Attorney General’s office has indicated it will appeal Judge Baker’s decision to block these four pro-life laws. Given the Eighth Circuit’s recent history, there seems to be a good possibility these laws will be reinstated by a higher court down the road.

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