Judge Dismisses Lawsuit Challenging Arkansas’ Pro-Life Laws

Abortion, , ,

A Pulaski County Circuit Judge has dismissed a lawsuit seeking to undo Arkansas’ pro-life laws.

In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, making it possible for states to set their own abortion policies. Since then Arkansas law has prohibited abortion except to save the life of the mother. Last year the state legislature took excellent steps to strengthen and clarify Arkansas’ pro-life laws.

But in January, attorneys with a pro-abortion group filed a lawsuit in Pulaski County to strike down Arkansas’ good, pro-life laws.

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin told media outlets at the time that the lawsuit on its face appeared to have little legal merit, and Family Council agreed with the attorney general.

On April 29, the judge presiding over the case dismissed the pro-abortion lawsuit and closed the case.

This is good news. Arkansas has been named the most pro-life state in America for the past six years, and lawmakers have enacted excellent legislation protecting women and unborn children from abortion and supporting women with unplanned pregnancies. This lawsuit would have undone all of that good work.

Public opinion polling has shown time and again that most Arkansans are pro-life and oppose abortion on demand.

Arkansas’ pro-life laws reflect Arkansans’ pro-life views. These laws protect everyone’s right to life — including the unborn child’s.

We appreciate Attorney General Griffin’s office working so hard to defend the sanctity of human life and defeat this pro-abortion lawsuit in Arkansas.

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

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Pro-Life Centers Win Unanimous Supreme Court Victory

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Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court unanimously agreed New Jersey pregnancy centers can defend themselves from government overreach.

In 2023, the New Jersey Attorney General’s Office subpoenaed a massive amount of information from First Choice Women’s Resource Centers in New Jersey — including donor information that may be sensitive.

In response, First Choice filed a federal lawsuit to protect its sensitive data from government overreach, and the attorney general sued to force First Choice to hand over the documents.

After two years in court, on Wednesday the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of First Choice.

In the ruling, Justice Neil Gorsuch pointed out that the New Jersey Attorney General’s office targeted First Choice despite receiving no consumer complaints against the pro-life group, writing:

“The [New Jersey] Attorney General served a subpoena on First Choice, commanding the group to produce 28 categories of documents, including documents reflecting the names, phone numbers, addresses, and places of employment of all individuals who had made donations to First Choice by any means other than through one specific webpage. Effectively, that demand required First Choice to provide personal information about donors who gave through two other websites, through the group’s various social media pages, by mail, in person, or by any other means. The subpoena warned twice that failure to comply may render the group liable for contempt of court and other penalties. . . .

“Since the 1950s, this Court has confronted one official demand after another like the Attorney General’s. Over and again, we have held those demands burden the exercise of First Amendment rights. Disputing none of these precedents but seeking ways around them, the Attorney General has offered a variety of arguments. Some are old, some are new, but none succeeds.”

This is really good news. Last summer, Family Council joined a coalition of pro-life groups in an amicus brief supporting First Choice’s lawsuit before the U.S. Supreme Court. We are glad to see the Court rule in First Choice’s favor.

Pregnancy resource centers offer women real options besides abortion. Many of these centers provide everything from ultrasounds and pregnancy tests to maternity clothes and adoption referrals — typically free of charge.

That’s part of the reason Arkansas provides millions of dollars in publicly funded grants for these organizations. It’s a way Arkansas can use public funds to support women and children without expanding government or creating new state programs.

Family Council is pleased to stand up for pro-life pregnancy resource centers in Arkansas and around the country. We hope all of our state and federal officials will continue to do so as well.

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

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Updated: Federal Court Finally Blocks Mail-Order Abortion Drugs Nationwide

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Updated at 10:45 A.M. on Monday, May 4: On Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an administrative stay letting mail-order abortion drugs resume at least until 5:00 P.M. on Monday, May 11.

On May 1, a three-judge panel from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked mail-order abortion drugs nationwide. The case is already being appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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.

All of that has created a dangerous industry of abortion-by-mail in Arkansas and across America.

In response, the State of Louisiana challenged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s mail-order abortion rules. Family Council joined other pro-life organizations in an amicus brief in the lawsuit earlier this year.

On Friday, a panel of judges from the 5th Circuit issued a stay against the FDA effectively blocking the agency’s mail-order abortion rules nationwide. The decision is being appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, but we are optimistic the Court will uphold the 5th Circuit’s decision.

New evidence shows that abortion drugs are much more dangerous than the FDA previously thought.

A recent study by the experts at the Ethics and Public Policy Center found abortion drugs are at least 22 times more dangerous than the drugs’ labeling indicates. Nearly 11% of women experience serious health complications from abortion pills — including sepsis, infection, and life-threatening hemorrhage.

Abortion drugs hurt women and kill unborn children. These drugs should not be available at all — much less through the mail.

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

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