Family Council Joins Letter Urging DOJ to Stop Mail-Order Abortion Drugs

Abortion, , ,

On Friday, Family Council joined a coalition of conservative leaders in a letter urging the U.S. Department of Justice to stop abortion drugs from being delivered illegally through the mail.

Arkansas law generally prohibits abortion except to save the life of the mother, and it is a crime for an abortionist to mail abortion drugs like RU-486 into the state. But under President Biden, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration loosened its safety protocols to allow mail-order abortion drugs.

Pro-abortion states have also enacted “shield laws” for abortionists who mail abortion drugs into states like Arkansas. To make matters worse, the U.S. Department of Justice has also opposed federal lawsuits from pro-lifers who want to stop mail-order abortion.

All of this has created a dangerous industry of abortion-by-mail both in Arkansas and across the nation.

The federal Comstock Act says that the U.S. Postal Service may not deliver any “article or thing designed, adapted, or intended for producing abortion.” On August 7, Family Council joined 34 other pro-life and conservative leaders in a letter urging Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and the U.S. Department of Justice to enforce the Comstock Act as it is written and stop abortion pills from being delivered illegally through the mail.

Family Council has been pleased to work with our friends in Arkansas and around the nation this year to oppose abortion pills.

In May, Family Council sent a letter to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Arkansas respectfully asking the office to enforce federal law as it applies to mail-order abortion drugs.

In June, Family Council joined a coalition of 83 state and national pro-life leaders urging acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche to stop mail-order abortion drugs.

Family Council also has launched a grassroots effort in Arkansas calling on Congress and the Trump administration to end former President Biden’s dangerous mail-order abortion policies. Pro-lifers can learn about that grassroots effort at abortioncrimebymail.com.

We have also partnered with pro-life organizations in an amicus brief asking a federal court to block mail-order abortion drugs nationwide.

Abortion drugs are dangerous. Research from the Ethics and Public Policy Center shows 11% of women experience serious health complications from abortion pills — including sepsis, infection, and life-threatening hemorrhage.

These drugs hurt women, and they kill unborn children. The U.S. Department of Justice needs to recognize these facts and enforce laws like the Comstock Act that are designed to protect Americans from mail-order abortion.

Pro-lifers can ask their members of Congress to oppose mail-order abortion by going to abortioncrimebymail.com.

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

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Released Time Continues to Expand in Arkansas Public Schools

Education, , ,

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette recently reported that released time continues to expand in public schools throughout the state.

Released time makes it possible for students to be excused from school so they can attend Bible studies or other religious classes during normal school hours. Thanks to federal court rulings, released time programs have been in operation for decades — including in Arkansas.

Generally speaking, released time in Arkansas requires three components:

  1. A church or other organization that wants to fund and conduct a released time program off-campus.
  2. School board approval for a policy authorizing students to leave campus for released time during school hours.
  3. Parental consent for the student to participate in the program.

Once a church or other group properly plans and prepares to operate a released time program, they can go to the local school board to seek approval and then collaborate with the school district to set the best time in the day for a released time program.

As long as the program meets off-campus, obtains parental consent, and is privately funded, then the school board may authorize the program.

The private entity that oversees the released time program is encouraged to work with the local school district and school board to set up a mutually agreeable schedule that benefits students. If planned correctly, released time programs generally do not conflict with a student’s core courses like math or English.

Earlier this summer, the organization LifeWise Academy shared ways it is expanding released time opportunities for students in Arkansas. LifeWise serves more than 1,200 students at approximately a dozen locations across the state. The program is expected to continue to grow in the coming year.

Family Council hopes to work with state and local policymakers in the future to promote released time programs and help pass a law formally recognizing released time in Arkansas.

If you are interested in starting a released time program in your community, you are welcome to contact our office at 501-375-7000 for more information.

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

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TikTok Seeks Arkansas School Documents

Social Media, , ,

Last week, attorneys for TikTok served subpoenas on public school officials in Northwest Arkansas requesting documents and testimony that may be relevant to a lawsuit over the social media giant’s operations.

TikTok boasts approximately one billion users worldwide — including upwards of 135 million in the U.S. — making it one of the most popular social media platforms on the planet. Its Chinese-based parent company, ByteDance, has been valued at $300 billion.

But TikTok has come under fire for struggling to protect private user data from entities in China — including the Chinese Communist Party — and the platform has been accused of serving users a steady “diet of darkness” online.

In 2023, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin filed a consumer protection lawsuit against TikTok in Cleburne County Circuit Court.

The A.G.’s legal complaint calls the TikTok app “a Chinese ‘Trojan Horse’ unleashed on unsuspecting American consumers,” and notes that “tens of millions of minors use TikTok in the United States.”

Once on the app, the Attorney General’s office writes that TikTok’s algorithm “force-feeds” objectionable content to users.

The lawsuit says some of the objectionable content TikTok promotes to teens includes “illegal drug use, sex, violence, and self-harm,” and alleges that TikTok deceptively labeled its app as being appropriate for ages 13 and up when it really should have been rated 17+.

Last Tuesday, attorneys for TikTok served subpoenas to public school officials in Springdale requesting research, studies, communications, policies, programs, public statements, complaints, and other records concerning TikTok and other online platforms — particularly the effects these platforms allegedly have on Arkansas youth.

To be clear, the Springdale schools and officials are not being sued and are not accused of any wrongdoing in these documents. Rather, the subpoenas appear aimed at obtaining documents and deposition testimony that the attorneys may use in defending against Attorney General Griffin’s lawsuit.

As we have said repeatedly, there is growing evidence that social media platforms may deliberately addict users, promote objectionable content, and put people’s personal information at risk.

Social media platforms are more than just phone apps or websites. These are multibillion-dollar businesses, and the adults who profit from them need to be held to the same standards as other business leaders.

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

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