As of July 10, a proposed abortion amendment to the Arkansas Constitution failed to meet state laws to get on the Nov. 5 ballot, according to Arkansas Right to Life.
Secretary of State John Thurston has thrown out the proposed amendment because the petitions failed to identify paid canvassers by name, as required by state law.
On July 5, Arkansans for Limited Government, the group behind the petition for the abortion amendment, stated in an affidavit submitted to the secretary of state's office that it had secured the required signatures to add the measure to the November ballot.
Abortion in Arkansas is illegal except when it is necessary to save the life of the mother. Under the proposed amendment, if it had been on the ballot and approved by voters, unrestricted abortion would be allowed in the state "within 18 weeks of fertilization."
"Today we are happy to send you the good news that the petition to place the terrible Arkansas Abortion Amendment on our voting ballots has been rejected by our Secretary of State," Little Rock diocesan respect life director Catherine Phillips wrote in an email to pro-life supporters July 10. "Of course, there will probably be legal challenges to this ruling, but today many prayers have been answered."
Arkansans for Limited Government announced that it collected more than 100,000 signatures to get on the ballot. If the Arkansas secretary of state's office certified that at least 90,700 signatures were valid, the amendment would be on the ballot.
In March, the Diocese of Little Rock announced its "Decline to Sign" campaign to ask Catholics not to sign the petition. Informational cards and posters in English and Spanish were placed in all parishes.
In a letter to parishioners in February, Bishop Anthony B. Taylor said the amendment would gut "the state's regulatory laws like requiring parental consent before a minor has an abortion, informed consent and ultrasound requirements or abortion facility inspection. Arkansas would be unable to protect unborn children who can already feel pain from dismemberment abortion."
Phillips said in an email July 6, "Sadly, many of our neighbors want legal abortion. We must continue to educate everyone regarding the grave immorality of abortion and the sanctity of every human life, from the moment of fertilization until natural death."
In a letter to Lauran Cowles, executive director of Arkansans for Limited Government, Thurston said that in addition to failing to submit "a statement identifying the paid canvassers by name" as required by state law, the organization only submitted 87,382 valid signatures -- "3,322 signatures less than the required 90,704." Thurston said that his office arrived at that number after its thorough count of the valid signatures among the 101,325 the organization turned in.
In a July 10 statement posted on its Facebook page, Arkansans for Limited Government said it was "alarmed and outraged" by Thurston's ruling. "We will fight this ridiculous disqualification attempt with everything we have. We will not back down," it said.
Rose Mimms, executive director of Arkansas Right to Life, said, "We appreciate the diligence of the Secretary of State in the certification process. Though this measure has failed, we expect this is not the end of efforts to once again make abortion legal in our state. Arkansas Right to Life will continue its mission to change hearts and minds and to protect pregnant women and unborn babies in Arkansas on this divisive issue through education and legislation."
"With the overturn of Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022," Mimms said, "Arkansas Right to Life 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."
Currently, abortion-related measures have been certified for the November ballot in at least five states. In Colorado, Florida, Maryland and Nevada, voters will be asked to decide on enshrining a right to abortion in their state constitution. In South Dakota, the measure proposes providing "a trimester framework for regulating abortion in the South Dakota Constitution."
In New York state, a judge recently ordered that an Equal Rights Amendment be taken off the November ballot in a ruling that said lawmakers didn't follow the proper procedure in passing it. The amendment would have enshrined "reproductive rights" and discrimination protections in the state constitution.
