Federal Court Says Arkansas Can Enforce the SAFE Act

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, August 12, 2025

On Tuesday a three-judge panel from the U.S. 8th Circuit Court of Appeals issued a decision letting Arkansas enforce its 2021 Save Adolescents From Experimentation (SAFE) Act.

Family Council President Jerry Cox released a statement saying, “This is amazing news. The SAFE Act is a good law that protects children from puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and sex-change surgeries. It has been blocked in court for the past four years. Now the State of Arkansas can finally enforce this good law protecting children. That’s something to celebrate.”

Cox called the SAFE Act a common sense measure that protects children. “Over the past four years, public health experts in the U.S., the U.K., Sweden, Finland, and other nations have found that science simply does not support performing these procedures on kids. The SAFE Act is common sense legislation that protects children. That’s why the Arkansas Legislature voted overwhelmingly to pass it in 2021. That’s why more than half the states in America have passed similar laws since then. And that’s why the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a similar law in Tennessee earlier this year. Most people agree it is not right to perform sex-change procedures on kids.”

Cox praised the Arkansas Legislature and the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office for supporting the SAFE Act. “The Arkansas Legislature did the right thing by passing the SAFE Act in 2021, and the Arkansas Attorney General’s Office has worked tirelessly to defend it in court ever since. Arkansans should be proud that we have elected officials who are so deeply committed to protecting children.”

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Arkansas A.G. Discusses Abortion Drugs, Shield Laws On “Washington Watch”

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Last week Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin appeared on Family Research Council’s “Washington Watch” to discuss how pro-abortion states are enacting “shield laws” that help abortionists ship abortion drugs into states like Arkansas.

Attorney General Griffin recently sent cease-and-desist letters to out-of-state companies advertising abortion in Arkansas. He has also urged the federal government to restrict abortion drugs and let states like Arkansas enforce their pro-life laws.

Abortion drugs don’t just kill unborn children. They also hurt women.

A recent study by the experts at the Ethics and Public Policy Center found abortion drugs are at least 22 times more dangerous than previously thought. Researchers determined that from 2017 to 2023, nearly one in nine women suffered serious health complications like sepsis, infection, and hemorrhaging as a direct result of the abortion drugs.

We appreciate Attorney General Griffin’s leadership on this issue and his willingness to stand up for women and unborn children. Abortion drugs are dangerous. They simply should not be for sale in America.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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Fifteen Good Laws Take Effect Today

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From Left: Family Council Staff Attorney Stephanie Nichols, Rep. Robin Lundstrum, and First Liberty Attorney Stephanie Taub discuss H.B. 1615 with members of the House Judiciary Committee. H.B. 1615 is now officially Act 677 of 2025.

On Tuesday, fifteen good laws that Family Council supported officially take effect.

The Arkansas Legislature finished passing legislation on April 18 and formally adjourned the 2025 session on May 5. With a few exceptions, most of the new laws passed this year officially take effect 90 days after adjournment.

This year, Family Council was pleased to work with our friends in the Arkansas Legislature and our statewide network of families and churches to support passage of many good laws — including the following fifteen that take effect Tuesday:

  1. Act 677 / H.B. 1615 (Religious Liberty): This good law by Rep. Robin Lundstrum (R — Elm Springs) and Sen. Gary Stubblefield (R — Branch) ensures that religious organizations and religious individuals are not penalized for living out their deeply held religious convictions. See How Your Representative Voted Here. See How Your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
  2. Act 400 / S.B. 223 (Religious Liberty): This good law by Sen. Mark Johnson (R — Little Rock) and Rep. Alyssa Brown (R — Heber Springs) affirms public school students’ and teachers’ religious liberties at school. See How Your Senator Voted Here. See How Your Representative Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
  3. Act 970 / S.B. 444 (Conscience Protections): This good law by Sen. Kim Hammer (R — Benton) and Rep. Lee Johnson (R — Greenwood) strengthens the healthcare workers’ rights of conscience law Arkansas passed in 2021. Among other things, this law adds whistleblower protections for healthcare workers, and it helps protect all medical professionals from having their rights of conscience violated. See How Your Senator Voted Here. See How Your Representative Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
  4. Act 387 / H.B. 1610 (Pro-Life): This good law by Rep. Robin Lundstrum (R — Elm Springs) and Sen. Jimmy Hickey (R — Texarkana) clarifies Arkansas’ law that prohibits abortion except to save the life of the mother in a medical emergency. The bill clarifies the definition of “medical emergency,” strengthens legal protections for doctors who treat pregnant women, closes possible loopholes in the current abortion law, and makes it clear that abortion remains illegal in Arkansas except to save the mother’s life. See How Your Representative Voted Here. See How Your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
  5. Act 485 / H.B. 1551 (Pro-Life): This good law by Rep. Jimmy Gazaway (R — Paragould) clarifies that it is a crime to secretly give a pregnant woman abortion-inducing drugs without her knowledge or consent. See How Your Representative Voted Here. See How Your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
  6. Act 915 / S.B. 450 (Pro-Life): This good law by Sen. Breanne Davis (R — Russellville) and Rep. Kendra Moore (R — Lincoln) makes it possible for public school students to see a recording of a high-definition ultrasound video as part of human fetal growth and development education courses and learn important facts about how unborn children develop in the womb. See How Your Senator Voted Here. See How Your Representative Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
  7. Act 973 / S.B. 591 (Pro-Life): This good law by Sen. Clint Penzo (R — Springdale) and Rep. Karilyn Brown (R — Sherwood) prohibits abortions performed due to the unborn baby’s race if Arkansas’ pro-life laws are ever amended or struck down. See How Your Senator Voted Here. See How Your Representative Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
  8. Act 859 / H.B. 1142 (Bioethics): This good law by Rep. Alyssa Brown (R — Heber Springs) and Sen. Jim Dotson (R — Bentonville) promotes ethical fertility treatments such as restorative reproductive medicine in Arkansas. The law also protects healthcare providers who have conscientious objections to unethical in vitro fertilization (IVF) and similar procedures. See How Your Representative Voted Here. See How Your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
  9. Act 154 / H.B. 1222 (Ballot Initiatives): This good law by Rep. David Ray (R — Maumelle) and Sen. Kim Hammer (R — Benton) clarifies Arkansas’ laws concerning initiatives and referenda. The bill says the Arkansas Attorney General cannot approve a measure’s sponsors to begin collecting signatures to place a measure on the ballot if the measure conflicts with the U.S. Constitution or federal law. The bill also prevents sponsors from asking the attorney general to certify conflicting measures. See How Your Representative Voted Here. See How Your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
  10. Act 453 / H.B. 1574 (Ballot Initiatives): This good law by Rep. DeAnn Vaught (R — Horatio) and Sen. Kim Hammer (R — Benton) requires petition canvassers for ballot measures to be Arkansas residents who actually live in the state. See How Your Representative Voted Here. See How Your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
  11. Act 271 / H.B. 1452 (Marijuana): This good law by Rep. Robin Lundstrum (R — Elm Springs) and Sen. Tyler Dees (R — Siloam Springs) prohibits marijuana use in public and on Arkansas’ highways. See How Your Representative Voted. See How Your Senator Voted. Read The Bill Here.
  12. Act 934 / S.B. 533 (Drugs): This good law by Sen. Tyler Dees (R – Siloam Springs) and Rep. Jimmy Gazaway (R – Paragould) prohibits dangerous drugs like THC made from industrial hemp. See How Your Representative Voted. See How Your Senator Voted. Read The Bill Here.
  13. Act 827 / H.B. 1529 (Pornography): This good law by Rep. Stephen Meeks (R — Greenbrier) and Sen. Clint Penzo (R — Springdale) prohibits people from using artificial intelligence to create and distribute “deepfake” pornographic images depicting another individual without that individual’s consent. See How Your Representative Voted Here. See How Your Senator Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
  14. Act 728 / S.B. 547 (Home School): This good law by Sen. Dan Sullivan (R — Jonesboro) and Rep. Stephen Meeks (R — Greenbrier) eliminates the provision in state law that requires home schoolers to live within 25 miles of a private school in order to participate in interscholastic activities at that school. See How Your Senator Voted Here. See How Your Representative Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.
  15. Act 955 / S.B. 486 (Privacy): This good law by Sen. Blake Johnson (R — Corning) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R — Perryville) protects physical privacy and safety of Arkansans in showers, locker rooms, changing rooms, restrooms, and sleeping quarters in government buildings and in state and local jails. The law also applies to changing rooms, restrooms, and sleeping quarters in shelters for victims of domestic violence. See How Your Senator Voted Here. See How Your Representative Voted Here. Read The Bill Here.

You can learn more about those new laws by downloading our 2025 General Assembly Report here.

You can also read our May edition of the Arkansas Citizen for a brief recap of the session’s highlights.

Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.

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