LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin has approved a proposal for a constitutional amendment that would expand abortion services across the state.
Currently, Arkansas law bans abortions unless medically necessary to save the mother, with no exceptions for incest or rape. The proposed amendment would permit abortion "for up to 18 weeks after fertilization, or in the instance of rape, incest, or fatal fetal anomaly," according to Arkansans for Limited Government (AFLG).
The group, For AR People, initially introduced a ballot to limit "government interference in Arkansans' personal healthcare matters." Since introducing the ballot, Griffin rejected two ballot proposals. The most recent rejection was in November.
"This last go-round was a fairly minor change, just having to do with the way we phrased our statement about protecting the physical health of the mother," Samuel Watson, For AR People's content director, said. "And so he just wanted us to clarify the specific wording, but the content of the amendment hasn't changed at all from these last two go-rounds. It was purely a grammatical change, for the most part."
For AR People and AFLG co-sponsored the proposal and now need to gather over 90,000 signatures to get the amendment on the 2024 ballot.
In March 2023, the Arkansas Senate passed a bill that changed the requirements for an Arkansas ballot measure to qualify. It raised the number of counties where a minimum number of signatures from registered voters must be submitted from 15 to 50.
"It's certainly a challenge, but it's one that I think we're well equipped to deal with," Watson said. "We have a field operation ready to go that will begin collecting signatures immediately. You know, we have funding coming in from around the state. So it is going to be tough, but I think we'll clear that hurdle, no problem."
When asked about her stance on the proposed amendment, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders said, "As it stands right now, I haven't seen anything that I would be supportive of."
Watson said this amendment is designed to protect Arkansans.
"I think we have a very, very strong chance of getting this passed in November because, you know, people are scared. Providers are scared, women are scared," Watson said. "This is a really dangerous time to be a pregnant woman in Arkansas, and this amendment is intended to protect them."
Watson has hopes that if the amendment makes it to the ballot in November, it will once again become the voter's choice.
"Let providers make the choices that they need to make in these emergency situations. Let people make the choices that are best for their families," Watson said. "This amendment really targets our candidates from across the political divide ... This isn't really a pro-life or pro-choice amendment, it's just intended to put the choice back into the hands of voters. And so I think we have a really, really strong shot at getting this passed in November."
You can read the full proposed amendment by entering the opinion number (2024-004) here.
5NEWS will update this article as more information becomes available.
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