On March 9, Arkansas Senate Bill 6 was signed into law. Also known as the Arkansas Unborn Child Protection Act, the bill bans nearly all abortions in the state, except to save the life of the mother in a medical emergency. This bill does not contain exceptions for rape or incest, exceptions which are often found in similar pro-life bills.
Governor Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas joined Morning Air live from Little Rock to discuss this powerful pro-life legislation, which is now one of the strictest abortion laws in the country, and why he was proud to sign it into law.
Show host John Harper explained that the bill is currently in a 90-day waiting period before it goes into effect, and that challenges are expected. “But you want this to land before the Supreme Court, don’t you governor?” asked Harper. “You want to challenge Roe v. Wade.”
“That’s correct,” said Gov. Hutchinson. “I’ve said for forty years that Roe v. Wade was wrongly decided … and it’s time for the Supreme Court to take another look at it and hopefully change directions. And it’s going to take a law like we passed in Arkansas that is in direct conflict with Roe v. Wade to work its way to the Supreme Court.”
He acknowledged that it’s not a guarantee the Supreme Court would hear the case, but he said that the timing was right with the “most conservative court we’ve had in decades” and advances in medical knowledge since the time when Roe v. Wade was decided.
The motivation behind the bill is “protecting the life of the unborn”. Arkansas is already prepared to protect the sacredness of unborn life with a separate trigger law that will go into effect at the point when Roe v. Wade is reversed and the authority goes back to each individual state.
Asked by Harper if he feared economic impact from the new legislation, the governor said that he hadn’t yet seen any financial repercussions and he wasn’t worried about it. “That wouldn’t make any difference to my general assembly because they’re going to do what they see is right and they’re not going to be persuaded by economic issues,” Gov. Hutchinson explained.
As a pro-life Christian, the governor has fought many political and legislative battles to protect the dignity of all life from the moment of conception. He urges “consistency and not giving up” to pro-lifers across the nation.
And it goes further than simply fighting for the right to be born, he reminds us. “We have orphan boxes, we have support for pregnant moms that might be struggling. We’re doing a lot to show that we care about the lives of the unborn but also the life of that young child that might not be born into an ideal circumstance and needs help. All of that, with the medical science, is what changes hearts and minds and that’s what I think brings success.”
Listen to the full interview:
Tune in to Morning Air weekdays at 5-8am CT only on Relevant Radio.
