LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Supporters and challengers to an amendment to add abortion access to the Arkansas constitution are responding after Thursday’s 4-3 decision by the state Supreme Court to block the measure from the November ballot.
The majority of justices ruled that Arkansans For Limited Government (AFLG), the group behind the ballot measure, had not properly turned in paperwork about paid canvasser training, which in turn disqualified some of the signatures gathered, pushing the group’s total below required numbers.
That ruling supported a decision by Secretary of State John Thurston that Attorney General Tim Griffin had defended.
In a statement, an AFLG spokesperson said the narrow decision was a “dark day in Arkansas” and cited Justice Karen Baker’s dissenting opinion.
“As Justice Baker’s dissent explains, the majority opinion supports Secretary Thurston’s decision to make up ‘out of whole cloth’ statutory requirements that do not exist,” the spokesperson said. “Justice Baker’s dissent also highlights the alarming nature of Secretary Thurston’s treatment of the Arkansas Abortion Amendment.”
The statement continued to cite Baker’s strongly worded dissent, quoting: “The majority has succeeded in its efforts to change the law in order to deprive the voters of the opportunity to vote on this issue, which is not the proper role of this court.”
The AFLG spokesperson added that the group would continue its work.
Others were in favor of the Thursday ruling. Griffin, whose office maintained that insufficient signatures were turned in, issued a statement supporting the decision’s legal basis.
“Changing the Arkansas Constitution involves a rigorous process requiring strict adherence to the law,” Griffin said. “The Arkansas Supreme Court confirmed today that the abortion advocates failed to follow the law that other ballot committees had successfully followed for over a decade since Governor Mike Beebe signed the law governing paid canvassers in 2013.”
The attorney general added the ruling was a win for the rule of law in Arkansas.
Thurston released his own statement, stating the ballot petition would not be certified or verified for the November election and commending the professionalism of his staff.
During the electoral process, my staff maintained the highest professional standards and did not allow partisan politics or misinformation to deter them from their duty to comply with the law,” he wrote. “I am dedicated to my calling to serve Arkansans and will continue to do so.”
There was also a number of responses from other groups who were vocal in their opposition to the ballot measure since its inception.
Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders made a brief statement on social media supporting the ruling and taking some credit for it.
“Proud I helped build the first conservative Supreme Court majority in the history of Arkansas and today that court upheld the rule of law, and with it, the right to life,” Sanders said.
Arkansas Right to Life executive director Rose Mimms issued a statement supporting the ruling shortly after it was made.
“Arkansas has dodged a deadly assault on our women and children with the disqualification of the amendment for the 2024 ballot and we are extremely grateful to the court for their rejection of the amendment as the law required and for the reprieve that Arkansas women and their babies will enjoy for at least the next two years until they try again,” Mimms said.
Arkansas Family Council spokesperson Jerry Cox also issued a statement shortly after the court’s ruling was announced, saying it proved Arkansans’ position on abortion.
“This radical abortion amendment might have made the ballot had it not been for all of the pro-life Arkansans who spread the word about it and had it not been for the Arkansans Secretary of State and Arkansas Attorney General being willing to enforce Arkansas’ ballot initiative laws,” Cox said. “This campaign has revealed that Arkansas is home to a strong, pro-life community.”
Cox continued to thank Thurston and Griffin, pro-life groups, churches, ministers, elected officials such as Governor Sanders, and many volunteers for “coming together to win this great victory.”
Arkansas Democrats party chair Grant Tennille released a statement expressing the group’s “frustration and disappointment” with the court ruling.
“The MAGA Republicans’ total abortion ban has brought to light countless stories of women and girls who have been harmed by this extreme policy, which makes no exceptions for rape, incest, child victims, or mothers in danger,” Tennille said. “This no-exceptions ban is too extreme, and voters deserved the opportunity to vote for common-sense access and exceptions.”
Tennille added that Republicans, knowing their views were unpopular, used their power to cheat Arkansas voters of the opportunity to have their voices heard.
Holly Dickson, executive director of ACLU of Arkansas said the court decision proved the need for vigilance.
“This is further proof that Arkansans must be ever vigilant to oppose politicians’ grabs of power from the people by voting our values and raising our voices,” Dickson said.
