BT Staff / Tuesday, July 9, 2024

ARTL Responds to Arkansas Abortion Amendment News

Arkansans for Limited Government, the group behind the petition for the Arkansas Abortion Amendment (AAA), has claimed it has secured the required signatures to add the measure to the Nov. 5 ballot, according to media reports.

Rose Mimms, executive director of Arkansas Right to Life (ARTL), said she was hopeful the petition would fail but emphasized the Secretary of State’s office must still officially validate the signatures. “With the overturn of Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, ARTL knew that this fight would come to the doorstep of each of the 50 states, and Arkansas would be no exception. We knew we would be a target as we are the No. 1 pro-life state in the nation.

“Arkansas lawmakers had prepared for that June day with Act 309 of 2021 that ended induced legal abortion in all cases except to prevent the death of the mother,” said Mimms. “As expected, in 2023, the Arkansas Department of Health reported zero abortions for the year.”

Mimms said it was evident as the state battles began after Roe was struck down that the work of ARTL over the last 50 years had been extremely successful in changing the hearts and minds of Arkansans. The many pro-life legislation protections put in place for pregnant women and their unborn children — along with the recognition of Arkansas as the most pro-life state for the last four years — would make flipping Arkansas to pro-abortion a goal.

“Through deception and outright lies, monied interests have reportedly submitted the required number of signatures so that the unsafe Arkansas Abortion Amendment is placed on the November ballot,” she said. “All legal options are on the table as ‘we the people’ fight against this attempt to radically alter our state constitution and widely open the door for the most extreme abortion industry practices to become commonplace in our state.”

Mimms added, “If the measure ultimately makes it on the November ballot, a ‘no’ vote will protect pregnant women and girls from unsafe, unlicensed abortion procedures that will take the life of their unborn son or daughter and possibly injure or kill them in the process.”

For more information, contact Mimms at 501-663-4237 or email artl@artl.org.

— Arkansas Right to Life is the state affiliate of the National Right to Life Committee the oldest and largest pro-life organization. For more information, visit artl.org.