Gov. Beebe Signs Bill Banning Partial Birth Abortion in Arkansas

A bill to ban partial birth abortion was signed into law today by Gov. Mike Beebe. A tip of my hat to the governor for signing this significant piece of pro-life legislation, but a wag of my finger for not giving as much attention to this bill signing as was given to the signing of bills such as the cigarette tax increase.

The bill, HB1113 now ACT196, sailed through both chambers of the state legislature with only six no votes in the house and three no votes in the Senate. This demonstrates once again the strange political climate of Arkansas with a state legislature dominated by the Democrats but still heavily conservative on most social issues.

The ban mirrors the Federal ban of the partial birth abortion procedure but by codifying it on the state level it allows the ban to stand in Arkansas regardless of any changes made by U.S. Congress or the Obama Administration.

Larry Page Director of the Arkansas Faith and Ethics Council said regarding the bill, “This measure represents important pro-life policy. The adoption of this law clearly signals that Arkansans respect human life and want to protect it to the extent possible under current federal constitutional and statutory laws.”