Family Council Joins Coalition in Urging U.S. Supreme Court to Uphold Religious Liberty

Religious Freedom,

On Monday, Family Council joined 31 other organizations in an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to let people of faith live and operate according to their religious convictions.

The case, Miller v. Civil Rights Department, centers on Catherine Miller. Ms. Miller is a Christian, and she owns a bakery in California.

The California Civil Rights Department filed a complaint against her in state court after she declined to bake a cake for a same-sex wedding. Although Ms. Miller won at the trial court level, the California appellate court ruled against her. Now she is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to hear her case.

Catherine Miller’s situation is very similar to Jack Phillips’ case in Colorado.

In 2012, Jack Phillips declined a request to bake a custom cake for a same-sex ceremony. Colorado’s Civil Rights Commission targeted Phillips’ Masterpiece Cakeshop under the state’s anti-discrimination law. It took six years of litigation and court hearings for Jack to finally win his case in 2018. The U.S. Supreme Court eventually ruled 7-2 that Jack could not be forced to violate his deeply held religious convictions.

In 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that artist Lorie Smith and her studio, 303 Creative, could not be forced to create artwork that violated her religious convictions about marriage.

Arkansas has enacted some of the best protections for religious freedom in the country, but it’s essential for our federal government to uphold and respect the free exercise of religion as well. That is why we hope the U.S. Supreme Court will hear Catherine Miller’s case and support every American’s right to live and operate according to their deeply held religious convictions.

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

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Political Donations From Nursing Homes Surpass $41K in Arkansas

Tort Reform,

Data from the Secretary of State’s campaign finance website shows that an organization representing the nursing home industry in Arkansas has made more than $41,000 in campaign contributions this year.

The Arkansas Health Care Association — which receives monthly dues from nursing homes in the state — is the state’s largest organization of long-term care providers. In the past, the organization has supported “tort reform” measures limiting the amount of money judges and juries can award in lawsuits when a person is injured or killed due to someone else’s negligence.

So far this year, the Arkansas Health Care Association’s political action committee has provided $41,634.60 in support to nearly two dozen candidates and political committees in Arkansas.

Family Council has never opposed responsible lawsuit reforms, but we have written repeatedly about the unintended consequences of the kinds of measures the nursing home industry has promoted in Arkansas.

For example, in 2017 lawmakers proposed an amendment capping noneconomic and punitive damages in personal-injury lawsuits.

Under that proposal, noneconomic damages could have been capped at $500,000 for injury or death, and punitive damages would have been limited to three times the noneconomic damages. That may sound like a lot of money to some people, but it’s not much compensation for the loss of a human life.

The measure also let lawmakers restrict evidence that could be used in personal-injury lawsuits.

Similar measures have been proposed since then.

As we and others have said over the years, restricting lawsuits makes it difficult or impossible to hold bad actors accountable if a nursing home resident is injured or killed because the nursing home was negligent or didn’t properly care for her. Placing arbitrary limits on the amount of money judges and juries can award to victims of negligence effectively puts a price tag on human life.

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

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“I felt pressured to take the pills”

Abortion, Video, , , ,

Our friends at Alliance Defending Freedom recently released a video highlighting how mail-order abortion pills make it easier for women to be coerced into having an abortion.

Since 2022, Arkansas has generally prohibited abortion except to save the life of the mother, and state law prohibits abortion drugs from being mailed or delivered in the state. Abortionists who break the law are subject to criminal penalties. They may be sued for malpractice, and they face professional discipline — like suspension of their medical licenses.

However, pro-abortion states are enacting “shield laws” to protect abortionists who ship abortion drugs across the country.

If an abortionist in one of these states mails abortion drugs to Arkansas or Texas, the state’s “shield law” prevents the abortionist from being prosecuted.

Abortion drugs don’t just end the lives of unborn children. They also carry serious health risks for women.

A recent study by the experts at the Ethics and Public Policy Center shows abortion drugs are at least 22 times more dangerous than the U.S. Food and Drug Administration labeling indicates.

Researchers found that from 2017 to 2023, nearly one in nine women suffered serious health complications like sepsis, infection, and hemorrhaging as a direct result of abortion drugs. That’s a serious concern.

Attorney General Tim Griffin has sent cease-and-desist letters to companies advertising abortion drugs in Arkansas, and he has notified the companies that they may be penalized under the state’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act. He has also urged the federal government to restrict abortion drugs and let states like Arkansas enforce their pro-life laws.

Public opinion polling shows Arkansans oppose abortion, and there is evidence that children are alive today because Arkansas has prohibited abortion. The state’s pro-life laws are saving lives, but it’s important to make sure abortion drugs aren’t illegally shipped into Arkansas — or any other state, for that matter.

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

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