Group Submits 101,525 Signatures to Place Abortion Amendment on the Ballot

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Above: Abortion supporters celebrate as petitions for the abortion amendment arrive at the Arkansas Capitol Building on Friday.

On Friday the group backing an abortion amendment in Arkansas submitted 101,525 petition signatures to place their measure on the November ballot.

The Arkansas Secretary of State will count and verify the signatures to ensure at least 91,704 of them came from registered voters before certifying the measure for the ballot.

Arkansans for Limited Government is the organization backing the abortion amendment. According to public documents, the group spent tens of thousands of dollars paying more than 150 petition canvassers to collect signatures across the state. However, pro-life volunteers have been active in communities all over Arkansas as well.

If passed, the Arkansas Abortion Amendment would prevent the State of Arkansas from restricting abortion during the first five months of pregnancy — which is more extreme than Roe v. Wade, and would allow thousands of elective abortions on healthy women and unborn children every year.

The amendment does not contain any medical licensing or health and safety standards for abortion, and it does not require abortions to be performed by a physician or in a licensed medical facility.

It automatically nullifies all state laws that conflict with the amendment, jeopardizing basic abortion regulations — like parental-consent and informed-consent requirements that both sides of the aisle have supported in the past.

The measure contains sweeping exceptions that would permit abortion through all nine months of pregnancy in many cases.

The amendment also would pave the way for publicly funded abortion in Arkansas by changing Amendment 68 to the Arkansas Constitution that currently prohibits taxpayer funded abortion in the state.

Pro-lifers were present at the capitol on Friday when the abortion amendment campaign submitted its petitions.

Several groups are actively working against the abortion amendment as well, including:

  • Arkansas Right to Life
  • Family Council Action Committee
  • Choose Life Arkansas
  • NWA Coalition for Life
  • The Arkansas Committee For Ethics Policy
  • The Catholic Diocese of Little Rock
  • Saline Decline to Sign
  • Stronger Arkansas
  • Stop Abortion On Demand
  • Students for Life of America

You can download a copy of the Arkansas Abortion Amendment here.

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

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Family Council Action Committee will Support Legal Challenges Against Abortion, Marijuana if Approved for November Ballot

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, July  5, 2024

Little Rock, Ark. — On Friday, Family Council Action Committee announced plans to support and coordinate legal challenges against the Arkansas Abortion Amendment of 2024 and the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment of 2024, if either amendment is approved for the November ballot.

Executive Director Jerry Cox released a statement, saying, “If either of these amendments is certified for the November ballot, our organization will mount a legal challenge to have it removed from the ballot, or we will assist other organizations who step forward to challenge these measures in court.”

Cox said the Arkansas Abortion Amendment of 2024 is unclear, legally flawed, and puts women in Arkansas at risk. “The Arkansas Abortion Amendment is so fatally flawed that it has no business being on the ballot. It prevents the State of Arkansas from restricting abortion during the first five months of pregnancy for any reason. That is more extreme than Roe v. Wade. The measure says abortions may be ‘assisted’ by a physician, and that abortions ‘may’ be performed in a hospital or other licensed healthcare facility. It does not say that abortions must be performed in these facilities, and it does not say that abortions must be performed by a doctor or even by a medical professional. In fact, the amendment does not contain any medical licensing or health and safety requirements for abortions. This measure endangers the lives of the very women its proponents purport to help. Those are fatal flaws, and they are just some of the reasons why a court should remove it from the ballot.”

Cox said the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment of 2024 is also flawed and should be disqualified from the ballot. “The marijuana amendment would drastically expand marijuana in Arkansas. The amendment makes it possible for people to grow and use ‘medical’ marijuana without suffering from a specific medical condition listed in state law. The amendment also repeals restrictions that protect children from marijuana advertisements. The amendment’s ballot title is so complicated that it fails to explain to the voter exactly how the amendment changes Arkansas’ medical marijuana laws and what effect those changes will have on our state. That is one reason why this amendment is fatally flawed and should not appear on the ballot.”

Cox thanked the groups and individuals who are opposing the abortion amendment and the marijuana amendment. “The campaigns behind these measures paid hundreds of canvassers $30 to $50 an hour to scour the state for signatures. But our network of volunteers working against the abortion amendment and the marijuana amendment have been very successful because they have helped educate Arkansans about these extreme measures. That work will be vital if these campaigns continue to November.”

Cox said the group will announce further details regarding legal challenges once the Secretary of State finishes certifying ballot measures later this summer.

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Abortion Amendment Canvassers are Especially Targeting These 28 Counties

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The following is an email alert from Family Council Action Committee.

Canvassers for the abortion amendment are working intensely across the state in the final stages of their petition drive.

Arkansans for Limited Government has until Friday to collect 90,704 valid petition signatures to place the Arkansas Abortion Amendment on the ballot.

Family Council Action Committee believes there are canvassers collecting signatures in nearly every county around the state. But pro-abortion strike teams traveling around Arkansas seem particularly focused on these 28 counties:

  • Ashley
  • Benton
  • Boone
  • Bradley
  • Calhoun
  • Clay
  • Cleveland
  • Crawford
  • Crittenden
  • Cross
  • Dallas
  • Fulton
  • Grant
  • Izard
  • Little River
  • Perry
  • Pike
  • Pulaski
  • Prairie
  • Randolph
  • Scott
  • Sevier
  • Van Buren
  • Logan
  • Searcy
  • Washington
  • White
  • Yell

If you see petition canvassers collecting signatures on private property, such as store parking lots, notify the property owner immediately. Our team is aware of situations where petition canvassers have tried to collect signatures on private property without getting permission from the property owners first.

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin has said petition canvassing should only be conducted with permission from the property owner.

Look for canvassers in your community, and ask others to be on the lookout too. Some counties have developed a network of pro-lifers who are watching for pro-abortion canvassers. As soon as they are spotted, they take action by calling the business or standing near the canvasser to urge people not to sign the petition.

Look for canvasser at your local Independence Day celebrations such as fireworks shows.  Pro-abortion canvassers have a right to get signatures on public property. You and other pro-life individuals have a right to be right there as well, urging people not to sign the petition. You have a right to walk alongside them if they are getting signatures in a crowd of people.

Family Council Action Committee is among the many groups encouraging Arkansans to Decline to Sign the abortion petition. You can learn more at FamilyCouncilActionCommittee.com.

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