They did it. They did it on a shoestring budget, with no organizational support from national groups. Just Arkansas women with clipboards, hustling.
With 100,000 signatures in hand and more still being counted, backers of the Arkansas Abortion Amendment say they’ve got the numbers they need to put reproductive rights on the November ballot. And so far 53 counties reached the qualifying minimum, more than the state’s required 50.
Arkansans for Limited Government, the group behind the Arkansas Abortion Amendment, will turn in petitions at the Arkansas Capitol today.
They’ll be bringing roughly 10,000 more than the 90,704 required to get on the ballot, although the number will certainly change as employees with the Arkansas Secretary of State’s office cull duplicates and weed out names of people who aren’t registered voters. There’s a cushion built into the calendar that gives volunteers another 30 days to collect more signatures to make up for any that are nixed by the state.
It’s easy to feel gloomy about politics in a red state that only seems to get redder. But today there is genuine cause to celebrate. It is only a first step in the process of restoring reproductive rights. But what a step! This is how you claw your state back from the tsk-tsking forced birthers who would gladly stand by while rape victims, pregnant children and women carrying non-viable pregnancies suffer unspeakably.
And they did it without glamorous celebrity endorsements or the financial muscle of major national groups. This effort was driven by smart and tireless Arkansas women who weren’t dissuaded by naysayers or the failure of national groups like Planned Parenthood or the American Civil Liberties Union to send them any cash.
On Friday morning Lauren Cowles, executive director of Arkansans for Limited Government, told supporters to celebrate a little bit, but be ready to work a lot between now and November:
We are grateful for and inspired by Arkansans, across all 75 counties, who signed the petition to put this amendment before voters in November. We believe that healthcare is personal and private. Bodily autonomy and the sanctity of the doctor-patient relationship are values that transcend party politics, economics, and religion. Healthcare decisions, including decisions about reproductive health, should be made between patients and their healthcare team.
Right now, Arkansas is the most dangerous place in the country to be pregnant. Not only does Arkansas have the highest maternal mortality rate in the nation, nearly half of Arkansas counties are maternity healthcare deserts, meaning they have no obstetric providers or options for delivery care. Arkansas deserves better than that.
This campaign is made up of Arkansas women and mothers, Arkansas healthcare professionals, and Arkansas faith leaders. We are grateful for their support. I want to recognize our 800+ courageous volunteers. Despite frequent harassment and intimidation, they worked tirelessly for months to ensure that we could reach interested signers in every corner of the state. Their relentless efforts, unwavering dedication, and unyielding passion inspires hope for a better Arkansas.
We are proud of our fellow Arkansans for rejecting the state’s extreme abortion ban and taking the first, important step towards protecting pregnant women now and in the future. We celebrate our accomplishments today, but on Monday we get back to work because women’s lives are at stake. The hardest job is ahead of us, and we will not fail.
Of course, there are four months between now and Election Day, plenty of time for shenanigans. Expect legal challenges, trickery, and loads of conservative cash to fund an army of Jason Raperts spewing untruths about post-birth abortions and other nonsense. Perhaps the real work to restore reproductive rights in Arkansas is only just beginning.
Jerry Cox, director of the Family Council and longtime abortion opponent, has already said he will look to the courts to stop what he so far has not been able to. Cox also vows to go to court to stop an expansion of the state’s medical marijuana program.
Should the Arkansas Abortion Amendment make it through the gauntlet and on to the ballot, Arkansas voters will have a chance to protect at least limited access to abortion in the state. The Arkansas Abortion Amendment would prohibit any laws or policies restricting abortion access within 18 weeks from fertilization; or in cases of rape, incest or fatal fetal anomaly; or when abortion is needed to protect the life or health of the mother.
That’s an ambitious goal for a conservative state like Arkansas, but it was not comprehensive enough for national groups. Planned Parenthood and other groups that have funded similar efforts to restore abortion access in other states held back here because they said the Arkansas Abortion Amendment is still too strict.
Perhaps now that the first leg of the relay is won, they’ll jump in the race. Before Roe v. Wade was overturned, it would have been hard to believe that Arkansas voters might expand abortion rights with a direct vote. But the political ground has shifted with the protections of Roe eliminated by the Supreme Court. From a report in USA Today last week:
“If it qualifies, I believe it will pass,” said Janine Parry, an expert on direct democracy at the University of Arkansas. “The current policy of basically a total ban has only been supported by about 15% of Arkansans for 30 years.”
The Arkansas Abortion Amendment is one of a handful of proposed amendments to the state constitution currently in play. For months, canvassers have also been collecting signatures to protect the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act, require a local vote for casinos, ensure quality standards for state-funded schools and broaden access to medical marijuana. The FOIA amendment comes accessorized with an accompanying statute, and there is also a proposed initiated act that would repeal sales taxes on diapers and feminine hygiene products. All of the proposed amendments need 90,704 signatures to qualify for the ballot. The statutes need 70,000+.
A team of state workers will get to work Friday checking the pages for duplicates, and will make sure the signatures belong to registered voters. They’ll also make sure each page of signatures is printed correctly with all the required information and is notarized.