The ACLU protects everyone's right to make informed decisions free from government interference about whether and when to become a parent.
In 2021, some Arkansas politicians launched yet another attack against our basic rights. The Texas state legislature stripped the right to abortion away from millions of people by passing SB8, and some politicians tried to replicate the bill here in Arkansas. SB8 copycat legislation would've banned abortion after just six weeks -- long before many people even know they're pregnant. Combined with the state-imposed 72-hour waiting period, this bill would've made it almost impossible to get an abortion in Arkansas. Their goal is clear: Forcing pregnant Arkansans to carry pregnancies against their will.
With your help we stopped this bill and kept it off the special session agenda!
But, our work is far from over in 2022.
We've already seen the devastating impacts SB8 has had in Texas. Thousands have been forced to travel hundreds of miles to access the reproductive care they need, and countless others are being forced to carry pregnancies against their will.
We know some Arkansas politicians will try again to pass anti-abortion, copycat legislation again this session.
We cannot let this become our new reality in Arkansas. Everyone should have a right to make personal decisions without political interference.
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Check out the facts below to learn more about the dangerous impact anti- abortion legislation could have on our state.
- SB8 bans abortion after just six weeks -- long before many people even know they're pregnant. If implemented here in Arkansas, it would be combined with the state-imposed 72-hour waiting period, and make it almost impossible to get an abortion in our state.
- The goal of SB8 legislation is clear: Forcing pregnant Arkansans to carry pregnancies against their will. We cannot let this happen.
- Policies that restrict reproductive health care go against our values and are bad for business. According to the Institute for Women's Policy Research, implementing existing bans in Arkansas would cost our state $1.2 billion per year.
- Eighty percent of Americans believe abortion should be legal, according to a recent Gallup survey, and SB8 copycat legislation does not have support from the majority of Arkansans.
- In a recent survey, 66% of job seekers said SB8 would discourage them from taking a job in Texas, and 63% said they would not apply for jobs in states with similar laws. Nearly half said they would consider moving out-of-state if their state passed a law like SB8.
- Forcing Arkansans to carry pregnancies to term is especially dangerous in a state with one of the worst maternal mortality rates in the country.
- Black Arkansans, in addition to Latinx people with low incomes, will be hit the hardest by being forced to carry a pregnancy to term. Black women disproportionately suffer from the severe maternal mortality crisis in Arkansas and are twice as likely as white women to die during pregnancy or shortly after childbirth.
- Our civil rights are under attack. Please fight back to ensure everyone can exercise their rights to make personal decisions without political interference.
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