On Thursday January 9th, 2023 House Bill 1174 was filed in the Arkansas House of Representatives. This bill would provide equal protection for unborn children under Arkansas law without exception or compromise. Most would have believed that the Arkansas based Family Council headed by Jerry Cox would have been rushing to support this bill filed by Rep. Richard Womack. Instead, they have come out and publicly opposed HB 1174 in an article on their website citing some reasons why they would oppose equal protection under the law for the unborn in Arkansas.
Cox’s first listed reason is that before the Roe decision in 1973 women were not prosecuted for having abortions in Arkansas. It is interesting for Cox to bring this point up, because it was the unequal punishment for the woman having an abortion in Texas the Supreme Court pointed to as being problematic in the Roe decision. Also, the past is not what defines what is needed in the present and future. We are to obey Christ as King and pursue righteousness in every area of life, including the legislation we support. Just because Arkansas failed to fully protect babies before Roe does not mean we should refuse to protect them now.
Cox’s next objection has to do with the possibility of coercion. This is maybe the weakest objection he makes in this article. This is because the title of the bill reads in part “To Repeal Provisions That May Allow A Person to Solicit, Advise, Encourage, or Coerce a Pregnant Woman to Abort Her Unborn Child”. This bill strengthens the state’s ability to punish anyone who would coerce a woman to have an abortion. Cox seems to be intentionally ignoring the clear language of the bill on this one.
The third objection is almost as confusing as the second. Cox insinuates that somehow there will be no ability to prosecute abortionists if a woman can also be held responsible for the murder of an unborn child. In what other situation would a supposedly Christian organization advocate for people to have zero consequences for an act that they rightly call murder just because they think they might not want to testify against someone else who participated in that murder? The lack of a biblical, moral, or logical compass here is incredibly disappointing.
Cox’s final point is that we don’t have to prosecute women to prevent abortion. If that is true, then why do legal abortions continue unabated in Arkansas? Chemical abortions are rising exponentially as those that want to murder their unborn child can do so from the comfort of their own home with no fear of reprisals under the law. With chemical abortion, there is no abortionist to blame. Who is responsible for these abortions? Chemical abortions are on a trajectory in Arkansas that will likely account for more deaths than we saw with any type of abortion before the Dobbs decision and the Arkansas trigger law going into effect.
Do Jerry Cox and Family Council believe that abortion is murder? If they do then they must stop being double-minded. You cannot say that abortion is murder and then refuse to treat it as murder under the law. Family Council and Jerry Cox need to either begin to support bills like HB1174 that are biblically and logically consistent, or they need to stop telling people that they believe abortion is murder. Their actions speak louder than their words.
I lost faith in Family Council and ARTL when they endorsed and/or stood by RINO Ron McNair when he failed to vote for an end of life bill. This helped McNair's reelection. So I remain #hall4house5 even if ARTL prefers a RINO. If I had won this race, I would not only vote for this bill, but would have co-sponsored it.
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