Update – Page 5 – Family Council

Arkansas Supreme Court Dismisses Lawsuit from Ballot Measure Campaign

Aug 20, 2026Jerry CoxElectionsBallot Initiative, Elections, Update

On Wednesday, the Arkansas Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit from Protect AR Rights, the group backing the Arkansas Ballot Measure Rights Amendment.

Protect AR Rights sued Arkansas Secretary of State Cole Jester earlier this month after his office announced the group failed to submit enough petition signatures to place the amendment on the November ballot. In his decision, the Secretary of State cited examples of “potential signature forgery” and other shortcomings on the measure’s petitions.

The lawsuit from Protect AR Rights called Secretary Jester’s signature count “unlawful and unsupported.” It asked the Arkansas Supreme Court to force Secretary Jester to begin verifying signatures and “order a preliminary certification” of the amendment while the group worked to correct any deficiencies with its petitions.

Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin defended Secretary Jester’s decision in the lawsuit over the Arkansas Ballot Measure Rights Amendment. On Wednesday, the Arkansas Supreme Court dismissed the lawsuit, meaning the Secretary of State’s decision will stand.

The Arkansas Constitution lets canvassers circulate petitions to place measures on a general election ballot. Its original intent was to give citizens a way to function as a “legislative body.” But instead of giving everyday people a way to enact their own laws, special interests have hired people to circulate petitions to place misleading, deceptive, and poorly written measures on the ballot in Arkansas.

Last year, Arkansans testified in legislative committees about petition canvassers allegedly trying to provoke altercations and encouraging people to sign petitions multiple times.

In response, the Arkansas Legislature has passed several good laws intended to address petition fraud and other problems with the initiative process, but those laws have been tied up in court.

The Arkansas Ballot Measure Rights Amendment would have amended the Arkansas Constitution to keep the ballot initiative process wide open and prevent the legislature from enacting safeguards against petition fraud and other offenses.

Most of the ballot measure’s financial support appears to have come from out of state.

Ethics filings show the National Education Association in Washington, D.C., donated nearly $1.4 million to the campaign for the Arkansas Ballot Measure Rights Amendment this year. The National Education Association is the largest teachers union in the United States.

Another $250,000 came from The Fairness Project in Washington, D.C. According to its website, the Fairness Project has opposed pro-life efforts in Missouri and supported a pro-abortion measure in Virginia.

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

Here are Two Ways to Help Oppose Chemical Abortion in Arkansas

Aug 19, 2026Jerry CoxAbortionAbortion, Life, Pro-life, Sanctity of Human Life, Update

Family Council is encouraging everyone to take two simple steps to help oppose chemical abortion drugs in Arkansas.

The first is to send a message asking Congress to support the Safeguarding Women from Chemical Abortion Act.

The second is to ask the federal government to stop letting abortionists deliver abortion drugs through the mail.

Here is a little more information:

In 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. As a result, abortion is prohibited in Arkansas except to save the life of the mother, and it is against the law to mail abortion drugs into the state.

But under President Biden, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration adopted rules that let abortionists send abortion drugs like mifepristone through the mail.

During that time, pro-abortion states also enacted “shield laws” to prevent abortionists from being held accountable when they 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 in their states.

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

The Safeguarding Women from Chemical Abortion Act by Senator Josh Hawley (MO) and Representative Diana Harshbarger (TN) would withdraw the FDA’s approval of mifepristone. This would remove the abortion drug from the market nationwide.

The bill would also provide a private right of action letting women sue the drug’s manufacturers if they are harmed by the abortion drug.

You can ask your congressmen and senators to co-sponsor the Safeguarding Women from Chemical Abortion Act by clicking here.

Passing and enforcing the Safeguarding Women from Chemical Abortion Act could take several months. That’s why we are also asking Arkansans to contact their leaders in Washington, D.C., and urge them to reverse the federal government’s policy that permits mail-order abortion.

Pro-lifers can ask Congress and the Trump Administration to reverse the FDA’s mail-order abortion policy by visiting abortioncrimebymail.com today.

Abortion drugs like mifepristone are dangerous. These drugs hurt women, and they kill unborn children.

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 should not be available at all — much less through the mail without an in-person visit with a doctor.

Our federal government needs to recognize how serious this issue is and take immediate steps to protect Americans from these abortion drugs. That is why we hope all Arkansans will contact their leaders today. Ask them to support the Safeguarding Women from Chemical Abortion Act and reverse the FDA’s mail-order abortion policy.

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

TikTok in the Dock, Trump to Elevate Arkansas Judge, Big Tobacco 2.0 — and More

Aug 14, 2026Jerry CoxCurrent EventsUpdate, Weekly Rewind

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

From Family Council

President Trump to Nominate Arkansas Federal Judge Lee Rudofsky for Eighth Circuit. On Wednesday, President Donald J. Trump issued a statement on Truth Social announcing his intention to nominate U.S. District Judge Lee Rudofsky to serve on the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. Keep Reading.

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

HHS Report Exposes Alleged Insurance Fraud Surrounding Sex-Change Procedures Performed on Children. On Thursday, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a startling report exposing ways medical professionals and facilities allegedly profited from sex-change procedures performed on kids. Keep Reading.

TikTok Seeks Arkansas School Documents. 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. Keep Reading.

Big Tobacco’s Growing Stake in Marijuana. One of the questions that has come up in recent years is how much Big Tobacco may be behind marijuana in the U.S. and internationally. Keep Reading.

More Americans Now Use Marijuana than Cigarettes. New survey data shows marijuana use has surpassed cigarette use in America, and the number of people who use marijuana daily is growing. Keep Reading.

Sports Gambling Is Still a Bad Bet: Guest Column. A recently released report shows a clear correlation between legalized gambling and gambling addiction. While this should surprise absolutely no one, there is further evidence that the explosion of legalized sports gambling was a bad idea. Keep Reading.

Released Time Continues to Expand in Arkansas Public Schools. 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. Keep Reading.

Here is Why Homeschoolers in the EFA Program Do Not Take the Same Assessments as Public School Students. A candidate for Arkansas Senate recently published a video on Facebook supporting new testing restrictions on homeschoolers and private school students who receive Educational Freedom Account (EFA) funding. What some people do not seem to understand is that every student receiving EFA money must take a nationally recognized norm-referenced test, and Department of Education data shows Arkansas’ EFA students are outperforming their peers nationwide. Keep Reading.