Arkansas is officially the most pro-life state in America! Arkansans value the sanctity of human life & want their elected leaders to implement laws protecting society’s most vulnerable members. I will continue working to foster a culture that respects & treasures human life. pic.twitter.com/eJNOwLTCjy
— Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin (@LtGovTimGriffin) December 16, 2020
The Family Council invited Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin to a news conference this morning to celebrate the ultra-conservative 8th Circuit Court of Appeals’ refusal to reconsider a panel’s decision allowing a group of anti-abortion laws to take effect in Arkansas. It’s official. We are the worst state in America for women’s medical rights, though that’s not how they branded it.
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Side thought: Does this mean the Family Council backs Griffin in the 2022 governor’s race? He had no meaningful role in passing the laws to further restrict women’s ability to make decisions about their bodies. Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, who defended the laws, and Sarah Huckabee Sanders, would fight to the death that they are as rabidly anti-abortion as Griffin and the Family Council.
The 8th Circuit decision is a clear break in precedent. But it likely signals where the Supreme Court is headed with anti-abortion crusaders like Amy Barrett now on board. The fervent hope in Arkansas is that they’ll lift Roe v. Wade and abortion will become illegal in Arkansas, even a pill days after sex, no matter how dire the circumstance facing the mother.
Polls continue to show a majority in Arkansas believe abortion should be a legal option in the state, with restrictions. But don’t tell it to the Family Council or Tim Griffin or the Arkansas legislature. They call us now the most “pro-life” state in the country with the approval of laws requiring women to inform others of pregnancy and discouraging abortion for pretextual reasons.
If only our support for the unemployed, for the sick, for the poor, for the homeless and oppressed minorities also demonstrated Arkansas was “pro-life.:”
