News from the South - Arkansas News Feed
Arkansas abortion ban gets tweaked; pro-choice advocates plan “immersive” event
by Tess Vrbin, Arkansas Advocate
April 25, 2025
The Arkansas Abortion Support Network plans to show people on Saturday what seeking an abortion was like before the state’s ban took effect nearly three years ago, the group announced in a press release.
The “immersive” event will take place at a former Little Rock abortion clinic that now houses the Your Options Understood (YOU) Center, which AASN launched in the fall of 2022. The center provides resources about abortion, parenting or adoption.
Little Rock Family Planning Services was the only abortion provider in Arkansas before the state enacted one of the nation’s most restrictive abortion bans, with a narrow exception to save the life of a pregnant person in an emergency.
AASN has helped fund out-of-state abortion services since Arkansas’ 2019 “trigger” abortion ban took effect upon the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade in June 2022.
Arkansas lawmakers have since proposed restricting abortion further or clarifying the terms of the existing ban. Some of those proposals became law after the 2025 legislative session, which ended last week, and the 2023 session, which saw a wider range of maternal and reproductive health legislation.
Brittaney Stockton, AASN’s policy and growth strategist, said she and other activists take issue with legislation that further governs abortion resources when the procedure is already banned. An unsuccessful bill this year would have required health care facilities to be licensed as ambulatory surgery centers in order to perform abortions if the procedure becomes legal again.
“We do not have access to abortion, but [lawmakers] are still doing everything they can to chip away and make it harder,” Stockton said.
Arkansas Legislature saw wide range of maternal and reproductive health legislation in 2023
Even while Roe v. Wade was still in place, state law required Arkansans seeking abortions to jump through “additional hoops,” which will be included in Saturday’s reenactment, Stockton said. Such “hoops” included a pregnant patient’s written consent for an abortion, a 72-hour waiting period between a doctor’s consultation and the procedure, and the requirement for doctors to show ultrasound images to pregnant patients seeking abortions.
Participants in Saturday’s event will learn why patients of the former clinic sought abortions. No personal information will be shared, Stockton said.
A key aspect of the event will be the portrayal of anti-abortion protesters outside the clinic, which can be “traumatic” for abortion seekers, Stockton said.
“We really want folks to understand what it was like to come into a clinic,” she said. “Whether you were there for a fetal anomaly or because you experienced sexual assault, or whatever … you still had to go through protesters telling you that you were evil, and making a terrible decision, and ‘Why can’t you just think about the baby?’”
The reenactment should last between 10 and 15 minutes, but wait times at abortion clinics used to last hours, Stockton said.
Afterward, attendees will have the opportunity to watch the film Preconceived, a documentary “contrasting the abortion experience with the misleading tactics of crisis pregnancy centers,” according to AASN’s news release. The event is scheduled from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The YOU Center is next to Arkansas Pregnancy Resource Center’s Little Rock location. APRC is one of several anti-abortion centers state lawmakers have supported with taxpayer funds since the abortion ban took effect. Thirty-five organizations applied for shares of the $2 million set aside last year; pro-choice advocates have said these centers mislead pregnant people about their options.
Stockton participated in last year’s attempt to put a proposed limited right to abortion on the November ballot. Many Arkansans were unaware of the near-total abortion ban, she said, and some of her fellow canvassers were not aware of the former abortion clinic in Little Rock.
Saturday’s event is an effort to close gaps in public knowledge about abortion in Arkansas, Stockton said.
“There’s hope in knowing what happened in the past so you can understand and do better moving forward,” she said.
The Arkansas Abortion Amendment did not make it to the ballot after the Secretary of State disqualified more than 14,000 signatures on a technicality.
Other Arkansas laws ban abortions at 12, 18 and 20 weeks’ gestation. A Democrat-sponsored bill to repeal these bans and restore abortion access in Arkansas was not considered by the Republican-led Legislature this year.
Legislative background
AASN’s services at the YOU Center include free emergency contraceptives, condoms and pregnancy tests. The organization distributed more than 13,000 doses of emergency contraception in 2024, Stockton said.
She also said Arkansans should not take the availability of contraceptives for granted because in her 15 years as a pro-choice advocate, she has watched lawmakers place more and more restrictions on abortion before and after Roe v. Wade’s reversal.
Earlier this month, a House committee rejected a bill from Rep. Robin Lundstrum, R-Elm Springs, that would have required minors to obtain written parental consent in order to receive long-acting reversible contraception, such as an intrauterine device (IUD). The Arkansas chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics opposed the bill.
Lundstrum said Thursday she has not decided if she will reintroduce the bill in a future legislative session. She said she wanted the bill to “open this conversation” that IUDs can have side effects and do not prevent sexually transmitted diseases even though they prevent pregnancy.
“These kids are thinking it’s a get-out-of-jail-free card,” Lundstrum said. “The parents and the doctor and the kids need to have a conversation that this is not a be-all end-all.”
Arkansas’ teenage pregnancy rate is more than twice the national average, with the majority of those pregnancies unplanned, according to data from Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families. The organization said last year that greater access to contraception and a more robust sex education landscape would reduce the rates of teen pregnancy and birth.
In February, a Senate committee rejected a proposal to require public school students, starting in fifth grade, be shown a fetal development video created by an anti-abortion organization. Stockton spoke against the bill and advocated for more comprehensive sex education in public schools; state law requires abstinence-based sex education, if it is taught at all.
A separate bill that became law this month will require “human fetal growth and development education” and the viewing of an ultrasound video at grade levels to be determined by the Arkansas Department of Health.
Lundstrum said she’s not aware of any upcoming proposals to further change Arkansas’ abortion laws.
She said she was asked to sponsor Act 387 of 2025, which clarifies that doctors can perform abortions to save a pregnant Arkansan’s life within “reasonable medical judgment.” The law will “let doctors in emergency situations be doctors,” Lundstrum said. It passed the Legislature with bipartisan support.
Another new Arkansas reproductive health law — Act 859, the Reproductive Empowerment and Support Through Optimal Restoration (RESTORE) Act — requires all entities that receive federal family planning service grant funds to provide services that help women track and manage their fertility.
“The RESTORE Act is groundbreaking legislation that champions reproductive healthcare for women in Arkansas by prioritizing restorative reproductive medicine,” conservative group Heritage Action for America stated in a news release Wednesday.
The law also prohibits state-funded entities from penalizing a medical professional who declines to participate in fertility treatments due to “sincerely held religious beliefs or moral convictions.” Another new law allows medical providers to opt out of providing abortions for religious reasons.
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Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com.
The post Arkansas abortion ban gets tweaked; pro-choice advocates plan “immersive” event appeared first on arkansasadvocate.com
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Left-Leaning
This content presents a strong pro-choice perspective, advocating for increased access to abortion services in Arkansas and opposing restrictive abortion legislation. It discusses efforts by the Arkansas Abortion Support Network (AASN) to raise awareness about the challenges of seeking an abortion in the state after the ban took effect, highlighting emotional and logistical barriers faced by abortion seekers. The language used also criticizes lawmakers who attempt to “chip away” at abortion rights and points to legislative actions that further restrict access.
The article clearly reflects an advocacy for reproductive rights, particularly in opposition to anti-abortion policies and practices. This aligns with a left-leaning stance on abortion and reproductive health, as the content emphasizes the need for more access and criticizes conservative legislation.
News from the South - Arkansas News Feed
Hackett student arrested after shooting threat
SUMMARY: A Hackett student was arrested after an anonymous shooting threat targeting the high school was posted in a student group chat. The threat, reported Monday morning, prompted Sebastian County deputies to station officers at Hackett schools for safety as classes resumed. Deputies, aided by Homeland Security, traced the post back to the teenager within ten hours. Investigators say there is no credible evidence the student intended to carry out the threat. The situation escalated through social media, complicating tracing efforts. The investigation remains active, with possible additional arrests, and deputies will continue a visible presence at the schools.
Deputies increased security at Hackett schools in response.
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News from the South - Arkansas News Feed
Every fall there’s a government shutdown warning. This time it could happen.
by Jennifer Shutt, Arkansas Advocate
September 2, 2025
WASHINGTON — Congress returns to Washington, D.C., this week following an uneventful August recess where little to no progress was made on government funding, even though lawmakers have just weeks left until their shutdown deadline.
Republican leaders will need the support of several Democratic senators to approve a stopgap spending bill before Oct. 1, since lawmakers have once again failed to complete the dozen full-year bills on time.
But what was once a routine bipartisan exercise has taken on heightened stakes, with Democrats and some Republicans increasingly frustrated by the Trump administration’s unilateral spending decisions.
The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office has issued several reports faulting the Trump administration for impounding, or refusing to spend funds approved by Congress, in violation of the law. And dozens of lawsuits have been filed, alleging the administration has acted to supersede Congress’ power of the purse.
The ongoing tension, combined with party leaders’ increasing focus on next year’s midterm elections, makes the possibility of a shutdown higher than it has been for years.
President Donald Trump said in mid-August he was open to meeting with Democratic leaders once they were back in town to negotiate a government funding deal but minimized the importance of talks.
“Well, I will, I guess, but it’s almost a waste of time to meet because they never approve anything,” Trump said.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries released a letter last week urging Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune to quickly begin negotiating a bipartisan stopgap bill.
“The government funding issue must be resolved in a bipartisan way,” they wrote. “That is the only viable path forward.”
Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, said last week that she wants to keep advancing the full-year spending bills, but that a short-term stopgap would be necessary to give lawmakers enough time.
“We need to avoid a government shutdown, which would be horrendous if that were to occur on October 1,” Collins said, according to remarks provided by her office. “And we also need to avoid having a continuing resolution, by that I mean a stopgap bill that just puts government on automatic pilot for the whole year.
“We’re going to have to have a short-term continuing resolution, but we’re making really good progress with overwhelming bipartisan support, and I hope that will continue.”
Another failure
Congress is supposed to complete work on the dozen annual appropriations bills before the start of the new fiscal year but has failed to do so for decades. This year is no different.
The House and Senate are nowhere near finishing their work on the bills, which provide funding for dozens of departments, including Agriculture, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Justice, State, Transportation and Veterans Affairs.
The bills, which make up about one-third of federal spending, also fund smaller agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Science Foundation and the National Weather Service.
The House has approved two of the dozen bills — Defense and Military Construction-VA. The Senate has passed its Agriculture, Legislative Branch and Military Construction-VA bills.
The House bills have only been supported by GOP lawmakers, while the Senate’s bills are broadly bipartisan, giving that chamber an upper hand if the two chambers begin conferencing full-year bills later this year.
Without a bipartisan, bicameral agreement on how much to spend on all of the bills, it’s highly unlikely Congress will be able to complete its work before the Oct. 1 deadline.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, speaks at a Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce Inside Washington luncheon on Aug. 12, 2025. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)
Leaders will instead need to reach agreement on a stopgap spending bill that essentially keeps government funding on autopilot until lawmakers can work out a final deal on the full-year bills.
The calendar doesn’t give Speaker Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader Thune, R-S.D., much time to find compromise with their Democratic counterparts.
Both chambers are in session for three weeks at the beginning of September before breaking for Rosh Hashanah. They’ll return to Capitol Hill on Sept. 29 with less than two days to fund the government or begin a partial shutdown.
Thune said in mid-August at the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce Inside Washington luncheon that he expects lawmakers will “have a big fight at the end of September.”
Last shutdown stretched 35 days
It’s been almost seven years since some federal departments and agencies had to navigate a shutdown, when Congress and the first Trump administration were unable to broker a funding deal before a deadline.
A shutdown this year would have substantially more impact than that 35-day debacle since, when that funding lapse began, Congress had approved the Defense, Energy-Water, Labor-HHS-Education, Legislative Branch and Military Construction-VA spending bills.
The departments and agencies funded by those laws, including Congress, weren’t affected by the shutdown.
Lawmakers have failed to send any of the full-year bills to Trump so far this year, so every department and agency would need to implement a shutdown plan if Congress doesn’t approve a stopgap spending bill before Oct. 1.
Federal employees who deal with the preservation of life and property as well as national security will likely be deemed exempt and work without pay until the shutdown ends.
Workers who are not considered essential to the federal government’s operations would be furloughed until Congress and the president broker some sort of funding deal.
Both categories of employees receive back pay once the lapse ends, though that doesn’t extend to federal contractors.
On to the stopgap
Congress regularly approves a stopgap spending bill in September to gain more time to complete negotiations on the full-year appropriations bills.
That continuing resolution, as it’s sometimes called, usually lasts until the last Friday in December when both chambers of Congress are scheduled to be in Washington, D.C.
So a September stopgap would likely last until Friday, Dec. 19, assuming the House and Senate can reach an agreement and hold floor votes in the weeks ahead.
Last year, in the lead-up to the presidential election, lawmakers approved a stopgap bill in September that funded the government through mid-December.
Following the Republican sweep of the November elections, GOP leaders opted not to negotiate the full-year bills and used a second stopgap bill to fund the government until March after a raucous 48 hours on Capitol Hill.
Speaker Johnson took a go-it-alone approach on a third stopgap spending bill, leaving Democrats completely out of the negotiations and jamming the Senate with the legislation.
Schumer and several Democrats ultimately helped Republicans get past the 60-vote legislative filibuster, but most voted against actually passing the stopgap.
The dilemma over forcing a shutdown or helping Republicans pass a stopgap bill will resurface for Schumer in the weeks ahead as he tries to navigate another shutdown deadline amid unified GOP control of Washington.
Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com.
The post Every fall there’s a government shutdown warning. This time it could happen. appeared first on arkansasadvocate.com
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
This content presents a balanced overview of the government shutdown situation, highlighting perspectives and actions from both Republican and Democratic leaders without overtly favoring either side. It includes factual reporting on legislative processes, quotes from key political figures across the aisle, and references to nonpartisan sources, maintaining a neutral tone throughout. The article focuses on the procedural and political challenges without editorializing, reflecting a centrist approach to the topic.
News from the South - Arkansas News Feed
Arkansas Fall forecast: Warmer temperatures and drier conditions expected as drought persists
SUMMARY: Arkansas is expected to experience a cooler and more fall-like September, starting meteorological fall on September 1st. The last week of August was among the coolest on record, and early September will continue with below-average temperatures. A cold front later next week will bring further cooling, making the second weekend of football season comfortable. Mid-September temperatures will remain fairly mild, with highs dropping from mid-80s to mid-70s in Northwest Arkansas and from low 90s to low 80s in the River Valley by month’s end. Fall colors should appear earlier than last year, likely peaking from late October to early November.
The Climate Prediction Center released its outlook for Fall, which shows above-average temperatures continuing through November.
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