Inside the long-odds push to undo an abortion ban in ruby red Arkansas
Supporters of a direct vote are betting that abortion rights has become a winning issue here in the post-Roe era, with strict bans galvanizing liberal voters and also giving some conservatives pause. Arkansas allows abortion only to save the life of the woman, exemplifying the kind of restrictions that have Republican politicians across the country squirming. It is also a rural state with high poverty rates, uneven access to medical services and the highest maternal death rate in the United States — making in-state options for abortion especially important, supporters say.
But the ballot proposal to legalize abortion through 18 weeks after fertilization — and afterward in limited cases — is facing stiff headwinds, with many voters guided by their faith and a conviction that life begins at conception. The main groups funding abortion ballot measures around the country have so far passed over Arkansas, a testament to the uncertainty of success as well as divisions over strategy. Efforts to put abortion on the ballot in 2024 battlegrounds including Arizona, Nevada and Florida have drawn far more attention.
Almost a dozen groups have filed with the state to oppose the ballot measure and, ideally, prevent it from meeting the July 5 deadline for roughly 90,000 signatures, according to officials. Arkansas Right to Life has launched a “Decline to Sign” campaign; its website offers slides and scripts for people to take to their churches. Another group opposed is headed by an adviser to Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders, a staunch social conservative.
“Any life is important,” Jenna Nissen, a voter in her mid-30s, said as she left church in Benton, not far from Little Rock. “I don’t think that ending life at any point is a measure that I would get behind.”
Activists in Arkansas are hoping that more support and money will come later, if their shoestring effort can gather enough signatures to put the measure on the ballot. They declined to say how many they have gathered so far, a potential sign of the struggles they face.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/26/abortion-ban-arkansas-overturn-activists/
= new reply since forum marked as read
