On Wednesday, federal judges blocked two anti-trans state laws from going into effect. The first, an Arkansas law, would prohibit physicians from providing gender-affirming care to transgender youth. The second, a West Virginia law, banned transgender girls and women from playing in women’s public-school sports. The Arkansas law would ban doctors from offering necessary gender-confirming […]
Federal Judge Blocks Arkansas Law Banning Almost All Abortions
On Tuesday, a federal judge placed a preliminary injunction on an Arkansas law that would ban most abortions. The temporary block ensures that the law will not go into effect until a final ruling on the legality of the ban is made. U.S. District Court Judge Kristine Baker blocked the law, which would prohibit all […]
Arkansas Passes Law Requiring Survivors of Rape, Incest to Report Crime Before Seeking Abortion
On Wednesday, Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson signed into law a bill that requires victims of rape and incest to report the crime to police before seeking an abortion after the state’s 20-week limit. The law will apply to other restrictive abortion cutoffs currently enacted by the state and will require abortion providers to document that […]
Arkansas Legislature Overrides Veto on Trans Youth Health Care Bill
Yesterday, the Arkansas General Assembly voted to override Governor Asa Hutchinson’s veto on the Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act, a bill that will prohibit transgender minors from receiving gender-affirming health care such as puberty blockers and hormone therapy, among other services. The bill is the first of its kind in the nation and has […]
Arkansas Governor Vetoes Anti-Trans Legislation
On Monday afternoon, Governor Asa Hutchinson vetoed legislation that would have made Arkansas the first state to ban gender-affirming health care treatment for transgender youth. The bill aimed to ban doctors from providing transgender people under the age of 18 with treatments including hormone therapies, puberty blockers, and transition-related surgeries, and from referring them for […]
Arkansas Passes Bill Banning Gender-Affirming Care for Trans Youth
This week, Arkansas passed legislation that bans access to gender-affirming care for minors. The bill now goes to Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson to be signed into law. If signed, Arkansas will become the first state to ban gender-affirming care for trans youth. The bill, misleadingly called the Save Adolescents from Experimentation (SAFE) Act, would prohibit […]
Arkansas Governor Signs Near-Total Abortion Ban into Law
This week Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson signed into law a near-total ban on all abortions in Arkansas, with the only exception being if the life of the pregnant person is in danger. “This is politics at its very worst,” said Alexis McGill Johnson, president of Planned Parenthood Action Fund, in a statement. “At a time […]
Federal Court Rules in Favor of Arkansas Abortion Law
The Eight Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Friday to lift a block on four restrictive abortion laws passed in Arkansas. Legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Arkansas, Holly Dickson, stated: “This ruling is a reminder that the fight against these extreme abortion restrictions is far from won… we are evaluating our […]
ACLU Challenges Arkansas’s Latest Attempt to Restrict Abortion Access
Arkansas’s only in-clinic abortion provider, Little Rock Family Planning Services, is suing the state to challenge a rule requiring patients to get a COVID-19 test within 48 hours of their abortion procedure. This is the second time Arkansas abortion providers have had to fight a legal battle to protect abortion access during the COVID-19 pandemic. […]
Federal Judge Temporarily Blocks Arkansas Coronavirus Abortion Ban
In a victory for reproductive rights advocates, U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker has issued a temporary restraining order to prevent enforcement of Arkansas’ ban on abortions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Like several other states, Arkansas attempted to stop all but emergency abortions during the pandemic, supposedly to preserve resources for COVID-19 care and reduce the […]
Federal Judge in Arkansas Delays Enforcement of Three Anti-Abortion Laws
Last week, U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker issued a two-week restraining order, effectively delaying the enforcement of three laws restricting abortion access in Arkansas. In the opinion, the Court found that “the threat of irreparable harm to plaintiffs and the public interest, outweighs the immediate interests and potential injuries to the defendant.” The lawsuit was […]
Remembering the Little Rock Nine
Although it has been 60 years since the Little Rock Nine entered Central High School, civil rights are still under attack.
Arkansas Governor Signs Offensive and Dangerous Anti-Abortion Bill
Governor Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas recently signed into law a bill that allows the husband of a woman seeking an abortion to sue his wife’s doctor, either for monetary gain or in order to place an injunction on the procedure, essentially allowing a man to refuse his partner access to an abortion.
Planned Parenthood Protected from Medicaid Restrictions in Arkansas
Reproductive health care was protected last week in Arkansas when a U.S. District Court Judge issued a preliminary injunction, temporarily prohibiting blocks on Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood.
Four States Have Now Defunded Planned Parenthood
As investigations in the Planned Parenthood fall flat, anti-choice Republican legislators are moving to pull funding at a state level.
Minimum Wage Workers Across the Nation Won Raises on Election Day
Voters threw their weight behind state, county, and city referendums raising the minimum wage across seven states on Election Day Tuesday.
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Study Highlights Disparities in Well-Being for Girls in Southern States
A recent report by the Girl Scouts Research Institute shows that the Midwest, Northeast, and Mid-Atlantic are the best regions of the United States to raise girls, while the South – specifically Mississippi, Arkansas, and Georgia – is the worst.
Moral Mondays Movement Expands to Other States for the “Moral Week of Action”
The Moral Mondays movement has announced a Moral Week of Action taking place from August 22 to 28 that will include events and protests in 11 additional states.
Arkansas Same-Sex Marriage Ban Struck Down
An Arkansas state judge struck down an Arkansas law and state constitutional amendment defining marriage as only between a man and a woman.
Federal Court Strikes Down Arkansas Early Abortion Ban
US District Judge Susan Webber Wright struck down an Arkansas law last week that would have banned abortions at 12 weeks of pregnancy.