On Wednesday the Arkansas Department of Health released its annual abortion reports for the state. The reports show there were 3,133 abortions in Arkansas during 2021.
Family Council President Jerry Cox released a statement saying, “Arkansas is saving unborn children, protecting women, and ending abortion one step at a time. These reports show abortion is near a forty-five year low. Abortion in Arkansas has declined drastically since 1991, and the state’s abortion rate has been cut in half since 2001. Fewer women came to Arkansas from out of state for abortions last year than in 2020. Teen abortion in Arkansas has remained near an all-time low. We want to end abortion in our state, and these reports show that we are doing that.”
Cox said the reports also show Arkansas’ informed-consent laws have helped women choose options besides abortion. “Arkansas has some of the best informed-consent laws in America. These laws require abortionists to give women all the facts about abortion up front, including abortion’s risks, consequences, and alternatives. They also have to give women plenty of time to consider all options before making a final decision. We estimate from these reports that more than 700 women chose not to have abortions last year after receiving this information.”
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Cox said the reports underscore why it is so important that the Arkansas Legislature voted to appropriate one million dollars this year to help women with unplanned pregnancies. “These reports reveal that between fifty-eight and sixty-eight percent of all abortions last year were on single moms. We have to help these women if we want to end abortion. The money that the State of Arkansas appropriated this year will make it possible for single mothers and women with unplanned pregnancies to choose options besides abortion in the future. That’s a good thing.”
Cox said he is hopeful that the U.S. Supreme Court will overturn Roe v. Wade and once again let states make their own abortion laws. In that case, Cox believes that abortion will be illegal in Arkansas except for purposes of saving the life of the mother. “We have strived for many years to bring Arkansas to the point where human life will be respected, and we look forward to a day when abortion is on the trash heap of history where it belongs.”
LifeNews Note: Jerry Cox is the president of the Arkansas Family Council.
