Life – Family Council

Recapping Week 1 at the Arkansas Legislature

Jan 17, 2025Jerry CoxLegislatureAbortion, Arkansas Legislature, Bioethics, Life, Pro-life, Sanctity of Human Life, Update

The Arkansas Legislature is wrapping up its first week of the 2025 session.

Family Council has been active at the capitol all week. Below is a brief overview of some of the bills our team is watching.

Good Bills Filed

H.B. 1139 (Religious Liberty): This good bill by Rep. Brit McKenzie (R — Rogers) and Sen. Joshua Bryant (R — Rogers) would strengthen Arkansas’ law concerning public school “released time.” The bill clarifies that public schools must excuse students from school, if the students’ parents request it, to receive religious instruction off-campus. Read The Bill Here.

H.R. 1006 (Marriage): This good resolution by Rep. David Ray (R — Maumelle) recognizes February 7-14 as “National Marriage Week” in Arkansas. The measure notes how marriage is the foundation of strong families and societies and that healthy marriages improve people’s emotional, physical, and financial well-being. Read The Resolution Here.

H.B. 1162 (Good Friday): This good bill by Rep. Matt Duffield (R — Russellville) would establish Good Friday as an official state holiday in Arkansas. Some school districts in Arkansas already close in honor of Good Friday. This bill would ensure Arkansas’ public school students, teachers, and state employees are able to observe and celebrate Good Friday with their churches and their families. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1142 (Bioethics): This good bill by Rep. Alyssa Brown (R — Heber Springs) and Sen. Jim Dotson (R — Bentonville) would promote ethical fertility treatments such as restorative reproductive medicine in Arkansas. The bill also protects healthcare providers who have conscientious objections to unethical in vitro fertilization (IVF) and similar procedures. Read The Bill Here.

S.B. 49 (Used Car Tax): This good bill by Sen. Justin Boyd (R — Fort Smith) and Rep. Lee Johnson (R — Greenwood) would eliminate the sales tax on used cars sold for less than $10,000. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1082 (Internet Privacy): This good bill by Rep. Andrew Collins (D — Little Rock) and Rep. Joy Springer (D — Little Rock) generally prevents websites and similar platforms from collecting, using, or sharing personal data of users aged 16 or younger without parental or individual consent. It also addresses targeted advertising based on children’s personal data. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1083 (Internet Privacy): This good bill by Rep. Andrew Collins (D — Little Rock) and Rep. Joy Springer (D — Little Rock) requires platforms to adopt safety measures concerning data collection, harmful content, and advertising. The bill would require platforms to automatically default to the most protective privacy settings for minors, and it would require them to give parents tools to manage privacy settings, monitor usage, and restrict purchases for their children online. Read The Bill Here.

Bad Bills Filed

H.B. 1011 (Abortion): This bad bill by Rep. Andrew Collins (D — Little Rock) would repeal virtually all of Arkansas’ pro-life laws, and it would legalize abortion throughout the state. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1013 (Bioethics): This bad bill by Rep. Andrew Collins (D – Little Rock) governs fertility treatments in Arkansas. The bill would let fertility labs in Arkansas create, freeze, store, and kill human embryos as part of unethical in vitro fertilization—or IVF—practices. Human beings are not lab material. This bad bill fails to respect every unborn child’s right to life. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1014 (Bioethics): This bad bill by Rep. Andrew Collins (D — Little Rock) would require the State and Public School Life and Health Insurance Program to pay for unethical IVF practices. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1020 (School Choice): This bad bill by Rep. Andrew Collins (D — Little Rock) would repeal the 2023 LEARNS Act’s education freedom account program that lets students use public funds to pay for an education at a private school or at home. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1028 (Libraries): This bad bill by Rep. Andrew Collins (D — Little Rock) would repeal Arkansas’ laws that protect children from harmful sexual material. It also would let libraries lend or share obscene material, and it requires public libraries to have “a written policy prohibiting the practice of banning books or other materials because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval” in order to receive public funding. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1031 (Sex Education): This bad bill by Rep. Andrew Collins (D — Little Rock) would make it possible for the Arkansas Department of Education to implement Planned Parenthood-style sex education as part of larger changes to public school health curriculum. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1032 (LGBT): This bad bill by Rep. Andrew Collins (D — Little Rock) would prevent healthcare professionals from helping people overcome unwanted same-sex attraction or gender confusion. The way the bill is written, H.B. 1032 would let counselors, doctors, and other healthcare professionals encourage people to be LGBT, but healthcare professionals would not be able to help people overcome unwanted same-sex attraction or accept their biological sex. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1033 (Red Flag Law): This bad bill by Rep. Andrew Collins (D — Little Rock) would create a “red flag” law in Arkansas making it easier for authorities to confiscate firearms from citizens that the government deem a danger to themselves or others. Read The Bill Here.

Other Bills We are Watching

H.B. 1018 (Family and Medical Leave): This bill by Rep. Andrew Collins (D — Little Rock) would create an income tax credit for employers who provide paid family and medical leave, such as maternity leave, to employees. Family Council has no position on this bill. Read The Bill Here.

H.B. 1044 (Raffles): This bill by Rep. R. J. Hawk (R — Bryant) and Sen. Jonathan Dismang (R — Little Rock) amends Arkansas’ charitable raffles and bingo laws. The bill would let colleges and universities conduct raffles in-person or online during sporting events. Schools would be able to sell raffle tickets themselves or use a nonprofit charity affiliated with the school to conduct the raffle. The bill contains a provision preventing casinos from operating or administering a raffle on a school’s behalf. Schools could use raffle proceeds to benefit school athletic programs — including purchasing and maintaining athletic facilities or providing financial aid, scholarships, stipends, and other compensation to student-athletes. Family Council has no position on this bill. Read The Bill Here.

Planned Parenthood Looking for a Lobbyist in Arkansas

Jan 17, 2025Jerry CoxAbortionAbortion, Arkansas Legislature, Life, Planned Parenthood, Pro-life, Sanctity of Human Life

As the Arkansas Legislature gets underway, Planned Parenthood reportedly is looking for a lobbyist in the Natural State.

Planned Parenthood is the nation’s largest abortionist. The organization has two facilities in Arkansas — one in Little Rock and one in Rogers — but state law generally prohibits them from performing abortions except to save the life of the mother.

Planned Parenthood Great Plains is the regional Planned Parenthood affiliate for Arkansas, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Missouri. The organization recently posted a job listing for an “Arkansas Contract Lobbyist,” saying,

The Arkansas Contract Lobbyist will be responsible for direct and grassroots lobbying on behalf of Planned Parenthood Great Plains (PPGP) and Planned Parenthood Great Plains Votes (PPGPV). This position will be responsible for helping develop and implement plans and goals to advance PPGP/PPGPV’s legislative priorities, under the direction of the Director of Legislative Affairs. In addition, this position will be responsible for helping PPGP/PPGPV staff engage with key stakeholders, including existing and new coalition partners, constituents, supporters, and policymakers. This position will work closely and cross- departmentally with PPGP’s Public Affairs and Communications staff. A collaborative style, strong work ethic, and enthusiasm are essential.

Individuals and lobbying firms are encouraged to apply. This position is expected to require 5-10 hours per week during legislative session, with potential additional work on an as-needed basis.

Historically, Planned Parenthood has been active on legislation in Arkansas.

Planned Parenthood has consistently opposed good, pro-life laws at the capitol. Last year, the group criticized state lawmakers for providing $2 million to pro-life charities that help women with unplanned pregnancies. With that in mind it isn’t surprising that Planned Parenthood is looking for a lobbyist in Little Rock.

The good news is that Arkansas is a deeply pro-life state, and its elected leaders generally do not support Planned Parenthood’s pro-abortion agenda. With that in mind, we believe pro-lifers will continue to stand for the right to life at the state capitol — and all across Arkansas.

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

West Virginia vs. Canada on Protecting Vulnerable Lives: Guest Column

Jan 13, 2025John StonestreetEuthanasia and Assisted SuicideAssisted Suicide, Euthanasia, Life, Pro-life, Sanctity of Human Life

Contrary to what Canadian officials have claimed, the “safeguards” put in place for the nation’s “medical assistance in dying” (MAID) practice are not sufficient. Highlighting the province of Ontario alone, a report in the New Atlantis notes that hundreds of serious violations have occurred, but none have been reported to law enforcement.

In Ontario, the coroner’s office is responsible for monitoring euthanasia malpractice. Although Chief Coroner Dirk Huyer has boasted that “Every case is reported. Everybody has scrutiny on all these cases. . .,” physician whistleblowers have identified over 400 “issues with compliance,” ranging from patients killed who were not capable of consent to communication breakdowns with pharmacists providing the deadly prescriptions. For example, physicians are legally required to notify pharmacists about the purpose of the euthanasia medications prior to dispensation, but only 61% of physicians complied with this regulation.

More troubling are various reported cases of providers expediting euthanizing drugs to patients sooner than the legally required 10-day waiting period. In one case, euthanasia provider Dr. Eugenie Tjan administered the wrong drugs. When the patient did not die, the doctor had to administer different drugs to complete the assisted suicide. Huyer failed to report this, eventually admitting this was a “blatant” case of violating Canadian laws: “The family and the deceased person suffered tremendously.”

Also, according to the report, about one quarter of all euthanasia providers in Ontario have received at least one slap on the wrist response from the coroner’s office regarding a compliance issue in 2023 alone. According to national law, all reports should be opened as criminal investigations, but Huyer failed to report even one. Instead, he determined that all issues in question required only an “informal conversation” with the practitioner. Dr. Tjan, for example, received an email of warning and remains licensed.

Making this story worse is that medically assisted suicide is now the fifth leading cause of death in Canada. The failure to minimize and regulate euthanasia there only confirms fears long articulated by critics. In fact, anywhere some form of doctor assisted death has been legalized, predictions of “slippery slopes” have been realized. For example, 10 states including the District of Columbia, have legalized physician-assisted suicide since 1994. In at least five, restrictions and regulations around the practice continue to be loosened, leading to increased harm.

The good news is that it has been a few years since the last U.S. state legalized some form of doctor assisted suicide. Perhaps the only positive development of Canada’s quick slide down this slippery slope is that America has seen the horrors: what at one point seemed an inevitable march of our own, has slowed. Last year, in fact, West Virginia voters narrowly passed an amendment to proactively outlaw “medical assistance in dying” in that state. Among other things, the amendment recognizes that the state fundamentally exists not to give citizens whatever they want, but to protect the gift and right to life endowed by the Creator on all people, no matter how vulnerable. In this sense, West Virginia offers a useful model that other states can emulate.