Senate Public Health Committee Advances Bill to End Abortion in Arkansas

Sen. Jason Rapert (R – Conway) presents S.B. 6 in the Senate Public Health Committee on Wednesday, February 10, 2021.

On Wednesday the Senate Public Health Committee advanced S.B. 6 by Sen. Jason Rapert (R – Conway) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) on a unanimous voice vote.

If enacted, this good bill would prevent abortion in Arkansas except in cases when the mother’s life is at risk and give the U.S. Supreme Court an opportunity to overturn Roe v. Wade, Doe v. Bolton, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, and other pro-abortion decisions.

Family Council fully supports the passage of this good measure. This is an opportunity for Arkansas to be a real leader in the effort to end abortion in America.

Many people have been saying for almost fifty years that abortion should be illegal. The time has come for us to make it so.

Several pro-lifers, including Rose Mimms of Arkansas Right to Life, testified in favor of the bill in Wednesday’s committee meeting.

Members of the Arkansas Abortion Support Network testified against the bill.

S.B. 6 now goes to the entire Arkansas Senate for consideration; most of the members of the Arkansas Senate are co-sponsoring this good bill.

Planned Parenthood, ACLU Opposing Conscience Protections, Pro-Life Legislation in Arkansas

Planned Parenthood and the ACLU are actively opposing two good pieces of legislation in Arkansas:

S.B. 289 by Sen. Kim Hammer (R – Benton) protecting healthcare professionals’ rights of conscience and S.B. 6 by Sen. Jason Rapert (R – Conway) prohibiting abortion except when the mother’s life is at risk.

Here is a little of what Planned Parenthood and the ACLU are telling people:

Here’s what S.B. 289 actually does:

S.B. 289 helps protect healthcare professionals’ rights of conscience.

Current law gives healthcare workers narrow protections for their rights of conscience.

S.B. 289 broadens these conscience protections for healthcare workers and ensures that healthcare professionals have equal conscience protections.

Arkansas’ healthcare payers currently have no specific conscience protections, and Arkansas law does not address discrimination or retaliation against medical professionals or companies who have conscientious objections to certain procedures. Current law also does not provide specific legal remedies for victims of discrimination or retaliation.

S.B. 289 simply helps address these problems.

Here’s what S.B. 6 actually does:

S.B. 6 prohibits abortion except in cases of medical emergency when the woman’s life is at risk.

The bill is similar to Arkansas’ abortion statutes prior to Roe v. Wade.

S.B. 6’s exception allowing abortion when the woman’s life is at risk tracks with Amendment 68 to the Arkansas Constitution, which says it is the policy of the State of Arkansas to protect the lives of unborn children and contains exceptions for abortions performed to save the life of the woman.

Passing S.B. 6 would give the courts an opportunity to reverse decades of pro-abortion decisions.

If enforced, S.B. 6 would save the lives of thousands of unborn children in Arkansas every year.

These are two really good bills that Planned Parenthood and the ACLU appear to be trying to stop in Arkansas.

Photo via Life Site News.

Bill Filed to Restrict Buying and Selling of Human Eggs in Arkansas

On Monday Rep. Cindy Crawford (R – Fort Smith) filed H.B. 1441 to address commercial egg harvesting in Arkansas.

This good bill restricts the buying and selling of human eggs.

Currently, Arkansas law contains no specific protections for egg donors.

State law does not prohibit companies from coercing young women to sell their eggs or paying large sums of money to harvest unfertilized human eggs.

State law does not ensure women are informed of the health risks associated with egg harvesting.

H.B. 1441 addresses these problems.

The bill prohibits companies and individuals from paying women for their eggs, but it permits altruistic egg donations.

It prohibits companies and individuals from advertising compensation for human eggs to prospective egg providers.

It requires human eggs to be harvested by a physician in a hospital, clinic, or other medical facility that meets Arkansas Department of Health licensing standards.

Egg harvesting requires hormone treatments that carry serious health risks. H.B. 1441 requires individuals or companies that harvest eggs to give the woman important information regarding the procedure, including a summary of drug or hormone treatments involved.

You can read the bill here.