Senate committee advances measure to ban abortion except to save the mother's life after contested testimony

The Senate Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee voted to pass Senate Bill 6, the "Unborn Child Protection Act," after sponsor Senator Rapert and legal counsel described the measure as a state ban on abortion except to save the life of the mother and urged the committee to advance the bill to press the U.S. Supreme Court to revisit Roe v. Wade.

Senator Rapert framed the bill as rooted in changed scientific and social circumstances since 1973 and cited endorsements and prior state laws. He said the Department of Health reported 2,963 abortions in Arkansas in 2019 and stated that nearly 62,000,000 abortions have occurred in the U.S. since 1973. "It's time for the United States Supreme Court to redress and correct the grave injustices," Rapert said when introducing the legislation.

Alan Parker, identified in the record as president of the Justice Foundation and legal counsel to supporters, urged a novel legal strategy, calling abortion "a crime against humanity" and arguing legislative fact-finding and new scientific evidence could support defending a state ban in court. "One of the things that's very powerful and that's new about this is a legal argument is that abortion is a crime against humanity," Parker told the committee.

Committee members limited public testimony because of hazardous weather and a motion to restrict debate to five minutes per side passed on a voice vote. Witnesses on both sides spoke under the time limit. Proponents included Rose Mims of Arkansas Right to Life, who said her organization "firmly supports SB 6." Several witnesses recounted personal experiences; Nona Ellington described having an abortion at 15 and later health issues she associated with that procedure. "I was never able to have children ever," Ellington said in her testimony.

Opponents urged the committee to consider practical consequences for women and child welfare. Karen Musick of the Arkansas Abortion Support Network said restricting testimony because of weather felt "incredibly unfair" and argued that education and contraceptive access reduce abortion. Caroline Morgan, a former medical social worker, said Arkansas faces child-welfare challenges and cited that the state has "close to 4,500 kids in the foster care system," urging caution about further restrictions.

After testimony, a committee member moved to pass SB 6; the motion was seconded and the bill passed on a voice vote with no roll-call tally reported in the hearing record. The chair dismissed the committee and noted members and visitors should travel safely because of the weather.

The record of the hearing contains multiple factual claims (for example, national abortion counts and state Department of Health figures) and legal arguments intended for future litigation; neither a roll-call vote nor a departmental fiscal analysis was recorded in the committee proceeding.