Legislation Would Provide $2M for Pregnancy Help Organizations, Address Maternal Health in Arkansas

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The Arkansas Legislature’s 2024 fiscal session is underway, and lawmakers are busy considering budget measures.

On Thursday Sen. John Payton (R – Wilburn) filed S.B. 64 providing $2 million in state funding for pregnancy help organizations that promote maternal health and provide women with options besides abortion. If passed, the measure would provide increased funding for organizations that help women and families.

 In 2022 Family Council worked with the legislature and the governor to secure $1 million for pregnancy centers. This funding provided grants to more than 20 pregnancy help organizations. Last year we worked with lawmakers to renew this funding. This grant money has gone to good organizations across the state that give women and families real assistance when faced with an unplanned pregnancy.

S.B. 64 would make improvements to the grant program. It would increase state funding from $1 million per year to $2 million. This would put Arkansas’ funding on parr with other states’.

The bill 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.

Now that abortion is prohibited in Arkansas except to save the life of the mother, we need to support women and families with unplanned pregnancies, and we need to promote infant and maternal wellness. This grant funding  does that.

It provides women in Arkansas with actual, pro-life options and support — meaning they are less likely to travel out of state for abortion. And it helps fund pro-life organizations who are promoting infant and maternal wellness in Arkansas.

More than 50 pregnancy help organizations serve thousands of women in Arkansas. S.B. 64 would enable them to do even more in our state.

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

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Another Group Announces Opposition to Arkansas Abortion Amendment

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Opposition continues to form against the Arkansas Abortion Amendment.

Right now a group is working to place the Arkansas Abortion Amendment on the November ballot. The measure would write abortion into the state constitution, and it would prevent the Arkansas Legislature from restricting abortion during the first five months of pregnancy — allowing thousands of elective abortions every year and paving the way for taxpayer-funded abortions in Arkansas.

On Wednesday, Students for Life of America filed ballot question committee paperwork with the Arkansas Ethics Commission, announcing it would oppose the abortion amendment.

The pro-life organization is headquartered in Virginia and has a staff of nearly 80 full-time employees. Part of the group’s mission includes training and equipping students about abortion.

Students for Life is the latest organization to stand against the abortion amendment. Others include:

You can download a copy of the abortion abortion amendment here.

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

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Group Backing Abortion Amendment Announces Petition Canvassing Locations Through End of June

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The group backing an abortion amendment in Arkansas has scheduled petition canvassing locations through the end of June.

Arkansans for Limited Government is collecting more than 90,000 petition signatures by July 5 to place the Arkansas Abortion Amendment on the November ballot.

The measure would write abortion into the state constitution, and it would prevent the Arkansas Legislature from restricting abortion during the first five months of pregnancy — allowing thousands of elective abortions every year and paving the way for taxpayer-funded abortions in Arkansas.

The measure also contains sweeping health exceptions that permit abortion up to birth in many cases, and it does not contain any medical licensing or safety standards for abortionists and abortion facilities.

According to the group’s website, supporters of the abortion amendment are collecting petition signatures at 15 permanent locations in Arkansas.

The group also is collecting signatures at “events, pop-ups, and drive-thru locations” from now through the end of June.

Canvassing locations appear to be concentrated in central and northwest Arkansas.

The amendment faces strong opposition from multiple grassroots organizations and elected officials in Arkansas. Many pro-life organizations are urging voters to “decline to sign” the abortion petition this year.

You can download a copy of the abortion amendment here.

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

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