Hyde and Seek: Big Pro-Life Battles + Arkansas News This Week

Current Events,

Here’s a quick recap of the week’s top stories from Family Council and our friends:

From Family Council

Family Council Joins Letter Urging Congress, President to Stand By the Hyde Amendment: Last Friday, Family Council joined more than 70 other pro-life leaders and organizations in a letter urging President Trump and leaders in Congress to preserve the Hyde Amendment when it comes to Obamacare subsidies. Keep Reading.

Hundreds of Women from Arkansas Had Abortions in Kansas in 2024: New data shows 851 women from Arkansas had abortions in Kansas during 2024. Keep Reading.

State Department of Education Refuses to Listen to Homeschoolers: On Friday, the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that the State Department of Education plans to move forward with proposed rules prohibiting homeschoolers from using Educational Freedom Account (EFA) funding to pay for team sports under the LEARNS Act. Keep Reading.

Educational Freedom Funding Topped $128.5M for Second Half of 2025: Arkansas invested more than $128.5 million in Educational Freedom Account funding during the second half of 2025, according to data on the state’s financial transparency website. Keep Reading.

Texarkana Implements New Rules to Address Public Drinking District Problems: News outlets report the Texarkana Board of Directors voted to place new restrictions on public drinking in the city’s “entertainment district” at its first meeting of 2026. Keep Reading.

U.S. Senator from Arkansas Gets Pro-Life Group’s Endorsement: Last week, the Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America Candidate Fund announced it had endorsed U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) for re-election. Keep Reading.

New Study Shows Even “Casual” Marijuana Use Harms Teens: A major study from Columbia University confirms what many parents have long suspected: There is no such thing as “harmless” marijuana use for teenagers. Keep Reading.

Researchers Say People With Eating Disorders are Dying from Assisted Suicide: A recent column in The Wall Street Journal highlights how people with eating disorders are dying from assisted suicide in states and countries where the practice is legal. Keep Reading.

China Struggles to Boost Births by Taxing Contraceptives: News outlets report that China is trying to raise its birthrate by taxing contraceptives. Keep Reading.

Medical Marijuana in Oklahoma Fuels Massive Black Market: News reports in Oklahoma show marijuana legalization has created a shocking black market problem across the region. Keep Reading.

From Our Friends

The 2026 March for Life is This Sunday. From Arkansas Right to Life.

Technology and Tyranny: AI, Hubris, and Chronological Snobbery. From Breakpoint.

Taxpayer Money Should Never Go to Planned Parenthood For Any Reason Ever. From Daily Citizen.

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

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This Week: Assisted Suicide, Marijuana, Sex-Change Procedures, and More

Current Events,

Here’s a quick recap of the week’s top stories from Family Council and our friends:

From Family Council

Federal Regulators Uncover Debanking: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released a report last month confirming that America’s nine largest banks systematically debanked customers over their political beliefs. Keep Reading.

Assisted Suicide Devastating Canada: A new video out of Canada shows once again the harm that assisted suicide and euthanasia cause. Keep Reading.

Canadian Woman Seeks Assisted Suicide After Years Without Medical Care: News outlets report a Canadian woman is seeking assisted suicide after being unable to receive the medical treatment she desperately needs for eight years. Keep Reading.

Sports Betting Continues Corrupting College Athletics: Recent NCAA investigations reveal how sports betting is threatening the integrity of college athletic programs across the nation. Keep Reading.

Researchers Link Marijuana to Teen Psychiatric Emergencies: A new study from Massachusetts General Hospital shows teen psychiatric emergencies spiked after marijuana commercialization began in the state. Keep Reading.

Federal Officials Act to Protect Children from Sex-Change Procedures: The week before Christmas, federal officials announced steps to protect children from sex-change surgeries, puberty blockers, and cross-sex hormones. Keep Reading.

From Our Friends

Liberating Venezuela. From Breakpoint.

Leaders of Five Medical Groups Ask Trump to Review Dangerous Abortion Pill. From LifeNews.

X’s ‘Grok’ Generates Pornographic Images of Real People on Demand. From Daily Citizen.

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

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Federal Banking Regulator Confirms Major Banks Engaged in Debanking

Current Events

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released a report last month confirming that America’s nine largest banks systematically debanked customers over their political beliefs.

The OCC’s preliminary findings show that between 2020 and 2023, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, Citibank, Wells Fargo, U.S. Bank, Capital One, PNC Bank, TD Bank, and BMO Bank all maintained policies restricting access to banking services for certain industries.

These banks imposed restrictions on sectors including oil and gas exploration, coal mining, firearms, private prisons, tobacco manufacturers, and digital assets simply because these activities were “contrary to [the bank’s] values” or might have posed a “reputation risk” to the bank.

Over the past four years, congressional testimony and news stories have highlighted how federal officials and financial institutions targeted conservative organizations through debanking.

Conservatives deemed “high risk” could have their bank accounts closed without warning and without explanation

During the Biden Administration, the U.S. Treasury Department gave financial institutions an analysis titled, “Bankrolling Bigotry” that listed legitimate, conservative groups such as Alliance Defending Freedom, the American College of Pediatricians, American Family Association, Eagle Forum, Family Research Council, Liberty Counsel, National Organization for Marriage, and the Ruth Institute as “Hate Groups” alongside the KKK and the American Nazi Party.

We also now know the U.S. Treasury Department gave banks and other financial institutions guidance that encouraged them to comb through transactions for terms like “Bass Pro Shops,” “Cabela’s,” and “Dick’s Sporting Goods” when looking for “Homegrown Violent Extremism.”

In 2021 Family Council’s credit card processor — a company owned by JPMorgan Chase — terminated our account after designating our organization as “high risk.”

At 10:29 AM on Wednesday, July 7, 2021, our office received a terse email from our credit card processor saying, “Unfortunately, we can no longer support your business. We wish you all the luck in the future, and hope that you find a processor that better fits your payment processing needs.”

Within 60 seconds, Family Council could no longer accept donations online. The processor never explained why we were labeled “high risk.” All we can do is speculate that our conservative principles and our public policy work might have had something to do with the decision to close our account.

Unfortunately, this is not an isolated incident. Other organizations have had similar experiences as well. In fact, corporate shareholders, state attorneys general, members of Congress, and news outlets have all expressed concerns over conservatives being wrongly labeled as “high risk” or “hate groups” and subsequently debanked.

It’s worth pointing out in August, President Trump signed an executive order to protect fair banking for all Americans, and JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America have taken steps to prevent politically motivated debanking.

Family Council is grateful to the many people and organizations who have stood up against debanking in recent years. After all, banks that are too big to fail should also be too big to discriminate. Nobody should have their bank account closed for what they believe.

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

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