Family Council Action Committee will Support Legal Challenges Against Abortion, Marijuana if Approved for November Ballot

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, July  5, 2024

Little Rock, Ark. — On Friday, Family Council Action Committee announced plans to support and coordinate legal challenges against the Arkansas Abortion Amendment of 2024 and the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment of 2024, if either amendment is approved for the November ballot.

Executive Director Jerry Cox released a statement, saying, “If either of these amendments is certified for the November ballot, our organization will mount a legal challenge to have it removed from the ballot, or we will assist other organizations who step forward to challenge these measures in court.”

Cox said the Arkansas Abortion Amendment of 2024 is unclear, legally flawed, and puts women in Arkansas at risk. “The Arkansas Abortion Amendment is so fatally flawed that it has no business being on the ballot. It prevents the State of Arkansas from restricting abortion during the first five months of pregnancy for any reason. That is more extreme than Roe v. Wade. The measure says abortions may be ‘assisted’ by a physician, and that abortions ‘may’ be performed in a hospital or other licensed healthcare facility. It does not say that abortions must be performed in these facilities, and it does not say that abortions must be performed by a doctor or even by a medical professional. In fact, the amendment does not contain any medical licensing or health and safety requirements for abortions. This measure endangers the lives of the very women its proponents purport to help. Those are fatal flaws, and they are just some of the reasons why a court should remove it from the ballot.”

Cox said the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment of 2024 is also flawed and should be disqualified from the ballot. “The marijuana amendment would drastically expand marijuana in Arkansas. The amendment makes it possible for people to grow and use ‘medical’ marijuana without suffering from a specific medical condition listed in state law. The amendment also repeals restrictions that protect children from marijuana advertisements. The amendment’s ballot title is so complicated that it fails to explain to the voter exactly how the amendment changes Arkansas’ medical marijuana laws and what effect those changes will have on our state. That is one reason why this amendment is fatally flawed and should not appear on the ballot.”

Cox thanked the groups and individuals who are opposing the abortion amendment and the marijuana amendment. “The campaigns behind these measures paid hundreds of canvassers $30 to $50 an hour to scour the state for signatures. But our network of volunteers working against the abortion amendment and the marijuana amendment have been very successful because they have helped educate Arkansans about these extreme measures. That work will be vital if these campaigns continue to November.”

Cox said the group will announce further details regarding legal challenges once the Secretary of State finishes certifying ballot measures later this summer.

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Abortion Amendment Canvassers are Especially Targeting These 28 Counties

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The following is an email alert from Family Council Action Committee.

Canvassers for the abortion amendment are working intensely across the state in the final stages of their petition drive.

Arkansans for Limited Government has until Friday to collect 90,704 valid petition signatures to place the Arkansas Abortion Amendment on the ballot.

Family Council Action Committee believes there are canvassers collecting signatures in nearly every county around the state. But pro-abortion strike teams traveling around Arkansas seem particularly focused on these 28 counties:

  • Ashley
  • Benton
  • Boone
  • Bradley
  • Calhoun
  • Clay
  • Cleveland
  • Crawford
  • Crittenden
  • Cross
  • Dallas
  • Fulton
  • Grant
  • Izard
  • Little River
  • Perry
  • Pike
  • Pulaski
  • Prairie
  • Randolph
  • Scott
  • Sevier
  • Van Buren
  • Logan
  • Searcy
  • Washington
  • White
  • Yell

If you see petition canvassers collecting signatures on private property, such as store parking lots, notify the property owner immediately. Our team is aware of situations where petition canvassers have tried to collect signatures on private property without getting permission from the property owners first.

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin has said petition canvassing should only be conducted with permission from the property owner.

Look for canvassers in your community, and ask others to be on the lookout too. Some counties have developed a network of pro-lifers who are watching for pro-abortion canvassers. As soon as they are spotted, they take action by calling the business or standing near the canvasser to urge people not to sign the petition.

Look for canvasser at your local Independence Day celebrations such as fireworks shows.  Pro-abortion canvassers have a right to get signatures on public property. You and other pro-life individuals have a right to be right there as well, urging people not to sign the petition. You have a right to walk alongside them if they are getting signatures in a crowd of people.

Family Council Action Committee is among the many groups encouraging Arkansans to Decline to Sign the abortion petition. You can learn more at FamilyCouncilActionCommittee.com.

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Arkansas Finishes Awarding $1M to Pregnancy Help Organizations for FY 2024

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Last month the State of Arkansas finished awarding one million dollars to charities that support women and families with unplanned pregnancies.

Act 622 of 2023 by Sen. Scott Flippo (R – Bull Shoals) and Rep. Lane Jean (R – Magnolia) authorized $1 million in state-funded grants for crisis pregnancy centers, maternity homes, adoption agencies, and social services agencies that provide material support to women with unplanned pregnancies.

This grant funding provides women and families with pro-life alternatives to abortion.

The measure directed the Department of Finance and Administration to distribute the state-funded grants to these pregnancy help organizations by June 30, 2024.

As of June 30, the State of Arkansas successfully distributed $999,999.77 to pregnancy help organizations for Fiscal Year 2024.

This money will help families, and it will have a tremendous, pro-life impact across the state.

Now that abortion is prohibited in Arkansas except to save the life of the mother, we need to support women and families and eliminate the demand for abortion. This grant funding  does that. It provides women in Arkansas with actual pro-life options — meaning they are less likely to travel out of state for abortion.

In April, Governor Sanders signed a budget measure providing $2 million to support pregnancy help organizations and maternal and infant wellness in Arkansas for the state’s 2025 fiscal year — which began on Monday.

Besides increasing the grant funding from $1 million to $2 million, the new and improved budget measure also clarifies that “pregnancy help organizations” include nonprofit organizations that promote infant and maternal wellness and reduce infant and maternal mortality by:

  • Providing nutritional information and/or nutritional counseling;
  • Providing prenatal vitamins;
  • Providing a list of prenatal medical care options;
  • Providing social, emotional, and/or material support; or
  • Providing referrals for WIC and community-based nutritional services, including but not limited to food banks, food pantries, and food distribution centers.

The measure includes language preventing state funds from going to abortionists and their affiliates.

The funding will provide additional grants to pregnancy resource centers, maternity homes, adoption agencies, and other organizations that provide material support to women with unplanned pregnancies in the coming months.

This is something all Arkansans should be proud of. Family Council is grateful to the General Assembly and Governor Sanders for supporting pro-life charities that serve women and families in Arkansas.

Below is a list of pregnancy help organizations that received grant funding in fiscal year 2024.

Resource CenterDoing Business AsGrant Amount
INFORMED CHOICES WOMENS CENTER OF THE OZ$73,246.90
NEW BEGINNINGS PREGNANCY CENTER$49,009.95
PATHWAY RESOURCE CENTER$41,239.95
ST BERNARDS HOSPITAL DEVELOPMENT FOUNDAT$41,039.95
HOPEPLACE – FORDYCE$41,039.95
HOPEPLACE NEWPORT$41,039.95
CRADLE THE MATERNITY SUPPORT CENTER OF CKATHLEEN BLOSSOM$41,039.95
PLUM FOUNDATIONPEACE LOVE UNDERSTANDING MERCY$41,039.95
ABBA CHARITIES INC$41,039.95
COMPASSION MINISTRIES LTD$41,039.95
OPEN ARMS PREGNANCY CENTER INC$41,039.95
ST FRANCIS HOUSE NWA INCCOMMUNITY CLINIC$41,039.95
ST JOSEPHS HELPERS OF PULASKI COUNTYARKANSAS PREGNANCY RESOURCE CENTER$41,039.95
PREGNANCY HELP CENTERPREGNANCY HELP CLINIC$40,995.95
PREGNANCY RESOURCE CENTER FOR SOUTHWEST$40,958.95
CRISIS PREGNANCY CENTER OF CENTRAL ARKANCARING HEARTS PREGNANCY CENTER$40,501.95
BAPTIST HEALTH FOUNDATION$40,039.95
SOUTH ARKANSAS CARING PREGNANCY CENTERHANNAH PREGNANCY RESOURCE CENTER$38,078.95
HEART TO HEART PREGNANCY SUPPORT CENTER$38,035.46
CHANGEPOINT PREGNANCY CARE AND PARENTING$34,714.95
HOPEPLACE MONTICELLO$34,532.95
HOPE OF THE DELTA CENTER$32,904.51
ARKANSAS BAPTIST CHILDRENS HOMES AND FAMLIVING WELL COUNSELING$24,891.45
FORT SMITH CHRISTIAN FAMILY SERVICES INC1ST CHOICE PREGNANCY MEDICAL CENTER$24,810.45
LIFES CHOICE PREGNANCY CARE CENTER$24,380.00
HOPES FIRST CHOICE PREGNANCY RESOURCE CE$11,257.95
Total$999,999.77

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

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