Arkansas House passes resolution opposing proposed abortion amendment

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – During its special session Wednesday, the Arkansas House passed a resolution opposing an abortion amendment that organizers are trying to put before voters.

The proposed amendment is still in the process of gathering signatures to qualify to put the measure on the November 2024 ballot, but House Resolution 1003, filed by Rep. Ryan Rose (R-Van Buren), is encouraging “all registered voters to vote against it.”

The resolution passed on a voice vote, but not before some lawmakers spoke out against it. Rep. Andrew Collins (D-Little Rock) said he was against the resolution and said the decision on the amendment should be left to voters.

“They’re our bosses,” Collins said. “We don’t usually tell them what to do with their vote in elections. But here we are doing that.”

The proposed amendment would prevent Arkansas from restricting access to abortion up to 18 weeks after conception and would allow for abortions after that time in cases of rape, incest, fatal fetal anomaly or to save the life of the mother.

The Arkansas abortion amendment measure has faced a number of challenges. Organizers behind the proposal first had to make three submissions to the attorney general’s office before the ballot language and name were certified.

After that certification, the groups behind the amendment, For AR People & Arkansans for Limited Government, had to start collecting the more than 90,700 signatures required to get the bill on the November ballot.

In a statement Tuesday after it was first filed, For AR People called the resolution a “clear attempt by lawmakers to weaponize private, intimate healthcare decisions that should be left between patients and their doctors.”

Those efforts have faced stiff opposition throughout the state. A group called Arkansans for Common Sense was started to ask voters not to sign the petitions trying to get the measure on the ballot while multiple county quorum courts passed resolutions declaring themselves “pro-life.”

Organizers have until July 5 to submit the signatures they have gathered for review.