Planned Parenthood is no longer allowed to provide resources to public schools in Arkansas after state lawmakers passed a new bill that prohibits them from doing so.
An overwhelming number of Arkansas legislators have voted to bar Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers from providing resources to state public schools. The bill that was passed on Monday, titled "Arkansas Student Protection Act" first passed the House of Representatives with a vote of 73-18, and on Monday was passed into law with a vote of 27-5.
According to the Christian Post, the "Arkansas Student Protection Act" or House Bill 1592 was sponsored by Republican state Rep. Mark Lowery. The bill prevents any "public school or open-enrollment public charter school" in the state to from "[entering] into any type of transaction" with an abortion provider such as Planned Parenthood.
Arkansas public schools and institutions that are found to have violated the new law will have to "appear before the state board" to determine the reason behind the violation and "how to prevent the violation of this subchapter and division rules in the future."
The Associated Press reported that the bill banning abortion provider Planned Parenthood from public schools is now on its way to Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson's office, where legislators hope he would sign it into law. In the event that the governor fails to sign the law, it will simply need a majority to override his decision and pass it into law.
House Bill 1592 is just one of the several abortion-related measures that are fast-tracked to become law under the majority-Republican Legislature this year.
In March, Gov. Hutchinson famously signed into law a controversial, sweeping legislation that prohibits almost all abortions, including for those women who were impregnated from an act of rape or incest.
At the time, Republican Senator Jason Rapert, who sponsored the "Arkansas Unborn Child Protection Act" or Senate Bill 6, said in a statement to AP News, "We must abolish abortion in this nation just as we abolished slavery in the 19th century - all lives matter."
Now, Arkansas legislators are more confident in passing abortion-related bills because of the Republican majority Legislature. Arkansas Family Council's Jerry Cox was one of the first to celebrate the passing of House Bill 1592 into law, calling it a "good bill" that will "help make sure Planned Parenthood and other abortionists don't access Arkansas' public schools."
Planned Parenthood Great Plains, the abortion provider's regional body, was first to denounce such legislation that prevents them from providing resources in Arkansas public schools. Planned Parenthood's Gloria Pedro said, "Our students' basic education should not be jeopardized because of the Legislature's misguided political agenda."
Planned Parenthood is determined to push back against the legislation banning abortion providers from entering public schools because of the increasing rate of teenage pregnancies in the state. According to Arkansas Times, the state has the highest teen birth rate and the second highest teen pregnancy rate in the United States. The state also has low rates of condom use and a higher incidence of sexual violence.
