Arkansas House Democrats Promote Bad Legislation As Part of 2025 Agenda

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The Arkansas Democratic House Caucus is promoting a slate of bad legislation as part of its “2025 Better Arkansas Agenda.”

The caucus is made up of Democratic legislators serving in the Arkansas House of Representatives. On Tuesday the caucus held a press conference unveiling its legislative package for next year. The caucus also posted a statement on social media promoting three bad bills that violate the sanctity and dignity of human life — H.B. 1011, H.B. 1013, and H.B. 1014.

H.B. 1011 — the “Restore Roe Act” by Rep. Andrew Collins (D — Little Rock) — is a bad bill that would repeal Arkansas’ pro-life laws and legalize abortion throughout the state.

H.B. 1013 by Rep. Collins is a bad bill that would let fertility clinics in Arkansas create and kill human embryos as part of unethical in vitro fertilization — or IVF — practices, and H.B. 1014 by Rep. Collins would require the State and Public School Life and Health Insurance Program to pay for these IVF practices.

IVF labs in America often operate almost as if human embryos were a factory product that lab workers can create, implant, freeze, or kill at will. But people aren’t products. There are ethical fertility treatments out there — including ethical approaches to IVF — but H.B. 1013 and H.B. 1014 fail to distinguish ethical fertility treatments from from unethical ones.

Unethical IVF will not improve maternal health in Arkansas. And abortion hurts women and takes the lives of unborn children. Laws like these simply will not make Arkansas “better” in 2025.

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

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Bill Filed to Repeal Pro-Life Laws, Legalize Abortion in Arkansas

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On Wednesday Rep. Andrew Collins (D — Little Rock) filed a bill repealing virtually all of Arkansas’ pro-life laws and legalizing abortion in the state.

State law currently prohibits abortion except to save the life of the mother. The law also contains clear exceptions for ectopic pregnancy, miscarriage treatment, and other situations.

Prior to the reversal of Roe v. Wade in 2022, Arkansas had enacted more than 50 laws restricting or prohibiting abortion — including laws concerning parental-consent and informed-consent for abortion, and laws preventing public funds from going to abortionists or their affiliates.

H.B. 1011 — the “Restore Roe Act” by Rep. Collins — is a bad bill that would repeal Arkansas’ pro-life laws and legalize abortion throughout the state.

The measure is nearly 128 pages long. It not only legalizes abortion in Arkansas, but it also strikes virtually all of the good, pro-life laws that Arkansas passed prior to 2022.

Arkansans do not support elective abortion. Time and again, public opinion polling has shown Arkansas voters believe abortion ought to be either completely illegal or limited to certain circumstances. Arkansas’ current laws reflect that.

H.B. 1011 would erase nearly four decades of good laws that protect women and unborn children from abortion. Family Council has worked for 35 years to promote and protect the sanctity and dignity of innocent human life, and we remain firmly committed to stopping abortion in Arkansas.

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

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Lawmakers to Discuss Rules for Pregnancy Resource Center Grant Funding

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A legislative subcommittee will meet this afternoon to discuss new rules governing grants to pregnancy help organizations in Arkansas.

Act 125 of 2024 by Sen. John Payton (R – Wilburn), which passed in April, provides $2 million in state grant funding for pregnancy help organizations.

The $2 million will be distributed via grants to pregnancy resource centers, maternity homes, adoption agencies, and other organizations that provide material support to women with unplanned pregnancies.

Act 125 contains language preventing public funds from going to abortionists and their affiliates — such as Planned Parenthood’s facilities in Little Rock and Rogers.

Governor Sanders signed Act 125 into law on April 30, but the Arkansas Department of Finance and Administration has not promulgated rules explaining how pro-life charities apply for grants and receive funding — until recently.

The Arkansas Legislative Council’s Administrative Rules subcommittee will meet today at 2:00 P.M. to review and vote on the proposed rules for the grant program. If approved, the rules will go to the entire ALC committee for a final vote — which would pave the way for pregnancy resource centers to begin receiving funding.

Since the supreme court overturned Roe in 2022, state legislatures around the country have increased funding for pregnancy help organizations.

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. Act 125’s grant funding  does that. It provides women in Arkansas with actual, pro-life support — meaning they are less likely to order illegal abortion drugs by mail or travel out of state for abortion.

Family Council is grateful to the General Assembly and Governor Sanders for supporting pro-life charities in Arkansas. We look forward to continuing this important, pro-life work in our state.

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

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