More Evidence Arkansas Was Right to Pass the SAFE Act

Legislation, LGBT, Transgender,

On May 5, Sweden’s Karolinska Hospital announced it would no longer give puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children under the age of 16.

For children ages 16 – 18, the hospital’s new policy says, “treatment may only occur within the clinical trial settings approved by the EPM (Ethical Review Agency/Swedish Institutional Review Board). The patient must receive comprehensive information about potential risks of the treatment, and a careful assessment of the patient’s maturity level must be conducted to determine if the patient is capable of taking an informed stance on, and consenting to, the treatment.”

The policy also notes that giving puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones to children “should be regarded as experimental.”

In the U.S., the FDA has never approved puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones for the purpose of gender transition. Doctors do not know the long term effects puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones can have on kids.

That is why many people equate them with experimenting on children.

That’s also why earlier this year the Arkansas Legislature voted overwhelmingly to pass Act 626 (H.B. 1570), the Save Adolescents From Experimentation Act.

This good law by Rep. Robin Lundstrum (R – Springdale) and Sen. Alan Clark (R – Lonsdale) prohibits sex-reassignment procedures on children. The law also prevents funding of sex-reassignment procedures performed on children.

Act 626 will protect children in Arkansas from being subjected to surgeries and procedures that can leave them sterilized and permanently scarred.

The fact that one of Sweden’s leading hospitals is no longer giving puberty-blockers and cross-sex hormones to kids is just more evidence that Arkansas was right to pass the SAFE Act.

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ACLU Plans to Challenge Arkansas’ New Laws, Opposes Religious Freedom Amendment

Legislature, , , ,

Last week the ACLU of Arkansas issued a report calling the state’s 2021 legislative session “a catastrophe for civil and human rights in Arkansas.”

The report heavily criticized some of the good laws the Arkansas Legislature passed this year, including:

  • Act 309 / S.B. 6 (Prohibiting Abortion): This good law by Sen. Jason Rapert (R – Conway) and Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) prohibits abortion in Arkansas, except in cases when the mother’s life is in jeopardy. This could save the lives of thousands of children and give the courts an opportunity to overturn bad, pro-abortion rulings. Read The Law Here.
  • Act 626 / H.B. 1570 (Prohibiting Sex-Reassignment on Children): This good law by Rep. Robin Lundstrum (R – Springdale) and Sen. Alan Clark (R – Lonsdale) prohibits sex-reassignment procedures on children. The law also prevents funding of sex-reassignment procedures performed on children. This law will protect children from being subjected to surgeries and procedures that can leave them sterilized and permanently scarred. Read The Law Here.
  • Act 461 / S.B. 354 (Protecting Fairness in Women’s Sports): This good law by Sen. Missy Irvin (R – Mountain View) and Rep. Sonia Barker (R -Smackover) would prevent male student athletes from competing against girls in women’s athletics. This would protect fairness for girls’ sports at school in Arkansas. Read The Law Here.
  • S.J.R. 14 (Religious Freedom Amendment): S.J.R. 14 by Sen. Jason Rapert (R – Conway) and Rep. Jimmy Gazaway (R – Paragould) amends the Arkansas Constitution. It prevents the government from burdening a person’s free exercise of religion. The measure is similar to Arkansas’ state Religious Freedom Restoration Act. Family Council strongly supports this good amendment to the Arkansas Constitution. Read The Measure Here.

The ACLU indicated it plans to file lawsuits to block the state from enforcing Act 309 and Act 626.

If the ACLU follows through with its lawsuit against Act 309 (S.B. 6), it will give the federal courts an opportunity to reverse decades of bad case law on abortion — including possibly overturning or Roe v. Wade, Planned Parenthood v. Casey, and other pro-abortion decisions.

The ACLU also said “The Arkansas Religious Freedom Amendment [S.J.R. 14] would be among the most extreme of its kind in the country, giving people a basis to challenge and exempt themselves from virtually any state law.”

But that simply is not the case.

Most states in America have enacted Religious Freedom Restoration Acts similar to S.J.R. 14 already.

Alabama has had a religious freedom amendment very similar to S.J.R. 14 in its state constitution for many years.

Measures like S.J.R. 14 simply help restore protections for the free exercise of religion. It’s just a good amendment that will help ensure that our state constitution protects religious liberty in Arkansas.

That’s something that everybody ought to be able to support.

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