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The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled 4-3 to reject an abortion rights amendment from the fall ballot.
Let’s bring you up to speed: Organizers of the Arkansas Abortion Amendment sought to challenge the state’s strict abortion laws, which currently ban abortion at any stage of pregnancy, except in medical emergencies. The amendment proposed allowing abortions up to 18 weeks of pregnancy, as well as in cases of rape, incest, threats to the woman’s health or life, or if the fetus is unlikely to survive birth.
What the Arkansas Supreme Court just ruled: In a 4-3 decision, the state’s supreme Court blocked the proposed abortion rights amendment from the ballot, citing a procedural failure by the organizers. The Court upheld Secretary of State John Thurston’s disqualification of over 13,000 signatures due to the organizers’ inability to certify that paid canvassers were properly trained. Without this certification, the signatures couldn’t be counted, leaving the initiative short of the required number to qualify.
Criticism from organizers: In a statement, Arkansans for Limited Government said, “More than 102,000 Arkansas voters exercised their constitutionally protected right to engage in direct democracy by signing the petition to get the Arkansas Abortion Amendment on the ballot. The Court’s majority ratifies Secretary Thurston’s decision to silence those voices. Despite this infuriating result, our fight isn’t over. We can’t — and won’t — rest until Arkansas women have access to safe, standard health care and the autonomy to make decisions about their bodies free from governmental interference.”
Polling: Attached is some polling related to Arkansas voter’s views of abortion.