Today Senator Gary Stubblefield and Rep. Charlene Fite filed S.B. 148 banning infanticide and creating protections for infants born alive following a botched abortion.
The bill requires doctors to provide food, water, and medical care to a newborn, thereby preventing babies from simply being left to die following birth. It also says a baby who survives an abortion must be provided immediate medical and emergency care.
Today the Arkansas Legislature’s House Public Health Committee passed H.B. 1032, a bill effectively banning D&E and sharp curettage abortion procedures.
These procedures involve the dismemberment of a living, unborn baby. Based on reports published by the Arkansas Department of Health, approximately 1,200 abortions have been performed via these methods in the past couple of years.
The bill is sponsored by Rep. Andy Mayberry (R-Hensley). It’s a good, pro-life bill that will reduce the number of abortions performed in Arkansas.
From here, H.B. 1032 goes before the entire Arkansas House of Representatives for a vote.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, January 11, 2017
Americans United for Life has released its 2017 Life List, ranking the 50 states from best to worst on how well their laws protect human life. Arkansas retained the fourth-place ranking, just behind Oklahoma, Kansas and Louisiana.
Family Council President Jerry Cox released a statement celebrating the announcement, saying, “This is something Arkansans should be proud of. Our state is the fourth most pro-life state in the country.”
Cox said he has a lot of respect for Americans United for Life. “They’ve been doing pro-life work for forty years, now. They’ve lobbied Congress, and they know their legislation. Their survey considers state laws and policies dealing with every aspect of promoting life. That includes abortion, but it also runs the gamut of medical issues like end of life care, physician-assisted suicide, and rights of conscience in the health care field. In other words, they look at everything dealing with human life. If they say we’re number four, you can count on it.”
Cox noted that Arkansas also earned Americans United for Life’s 2017 All-Star Status for legislation protecting the lives of women and infants from abortion. “In 2015 Arkansas passed several excellent pro-life laws that help protect the lives of unborn children, and they also ensure abortion clinics are held accountable for their actions. Laws now in effect require a doctor performing an abortion on a minor to first obtain parental consent; ensures women seeking an abortion are given the full story on abortion, its consequences, and its alternatives; and prevent our tax dollars from subsidizing abortion.”
“The Arkansas Legislature has consistently passed sound, pro-life legislation. Our lawmakers have worked to make Arkansas a state where innocent, human life is respected from conception until natural death,” Cox said. He hopes Arkansas will eventually become the most pro-life state in America.
Family Council is a conservative education and research organization based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
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