Bill Filed to Improve Arkansas’ Restrictions on Abortion Drugs

Abortion, , , ,

On Wednesday Rep. Sonia Barker (R – Smackover) and Sen. Blake Johnson (R – Corning) filed H.B. 1402 improving Arkansas’ restrictions on drugs like RU-486 that doctors use in chemical abortions.

H.B. 1402 outlines requirements that abortionists must follow in administering abortion-inducing drugs, and it prohibits abortion drugs from being delivered by mail in Arkansas.

It also updates current law to ensure doctors who perform chemical abortions are credentialed to handle abortion complications and can transfer the woman to a hospital if she experiences complications.

Since 2015, we’ve seen a push at the federal level to make abortion-inducing drugs easier to obtain.

Under President Obama’s watch, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration changed the protocols for the RU-486 regimen. These changes made it easier for abortionists to give abortion-inducing drugs to women.

Pro-abortion activists also have taken legal action demanding that abortion drugs be available by mail rather than in-person from a doctor’s office.

H.B. 1402 will help act as a shield if the Biden Administration or the courts decide to relax these federal abortion rules any further. It also helps further clarify Arkansas’ restrictions on chemical abortions.

That has the potential to protect a lot of unborn children in Arkansas.

You can read H.B. 1402 here.

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Bill Declaring Religion as Essential Passes Senate, Goes to Governor

Legislation, Legislature, Religious Freedom, , ,

On Wednesday the Arkansas Senate overwhelmingly passed H.B. 1211.

This good bill by Rep. Mary Bentley (R – Perryville) and Sen. Kim Hammer (R – Benton) recognizes that religion and religious organizations are essential in Arkansas.

In other states we’ve seen churches and religious organizations singled out during the COVID-19 pandemic. H.B. 1211 helps prevent that from ever happening in Arkansas.

Public officials have the authority to protect health and public safety, but the the free exercise of religion is never suspended.

H.B. 1211 ensures our government never closes churches during a disaster or other emergency.

It prevents the government from penalizing a church that meets during an emergency, and it requires churches to comply with the same basic health and safety standards as everyone else.

Churches and charities support their communities during an emergency. They need to be free to serve people without worrying that the government might punish them. H.B. 1211 provides that protection.

H.B. 1211 passed with overwhelming support in the Arkansas House and Arkansas Senate. It now goes to Governor Hutchinson’s desk to be signed into law.

Below is a breakdown of how the Arkansas Senate voted on H.B. 1211.

Voted For The Bill

  • B. Ballinger
  • Beckham
  • Bledsoe
  • Caldwell
  • L. Chesterfield
  • A. Clark
  • B. Davis
  • J. Dismang
  • L. Eads
  • J. English
  • Flippo
  • S. Flowers
  • T. Garner
  • Gilmore
  • K. Hammer
  • J. Hendren
  • Hester
  • Hickey
  • Hill
  • Irvin
  • M. Johnson
  • B. Johnson
  • M. Pitsch
  • Rapert
  • Rice
  • B. Sample
  • G. Stubblefield
  • J. Sturch
  • D. Sullivan
  • Teague
  • D. Wallace

Voted Against The Bill

None.

Voted “Present” On The Bill

  • Elliott
  • K. Ingram
  • G. Leding
  • C. Tucker

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Bill Would Address Problem With Marijuana Advertising

Legislation, Legislature, Marijuana,

On Monday Rep. Delia Haak (R – Gentry) filed H.B. 1353 closing a loophole in Arkansas’ law governing advertising for “medical” marijuana.

Arkansas law generally prohibits marijuana dispensaries and cultivators from using medical symbols on their property.

However, state law doesn’t clearly apply to other forms of marijuana advertising. As a result, billboards and ads for marijuana products around Arkansas sometimes use green crosses or other medical symbols.

H.B. 1353 clarifies the law to say that marijuana dispensaries and cultivators cannot use a cross of any color or other symbols commonly associated with the practice of medicine in their advertisements.

This is a good bill that closes a loophole in Arkansas’ marijuana laws.

You can read H.B. 1353 here.

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