Each year, Americans United for Life (AUL), a pro-life public advocacy organization, ranks states based on their work to advance a culture of life. For the third year in a row, Arkansas has claimed the top spot on the list.
Between Roe’s reversal and responsive legislative activity, there was a lot of movement among the states this year.
Today in Arkansas, all preborn human life is protected by state law from the moment of conception. The only exception is in the extremely rare cases where it is required to save the life of the mother.
The top five most pro-life states in the nation were Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Indiana and Mississippi.
The “Life List,” as it is referred to by Americans United for Life, considers life protections for the preborn, the elderly, and those that are terminally ill. It is a comprehensive look at laws that protect life from the womb to the tomb.
Different categories exist for different types of state action, including laws related to abortion, legal recognition of preborn children, bioethics, assisted suicide and rights of conscience.
Arkansas’ state assessment demonstrates that it meets nearly every threshold set out by AUL to measure pro-life efforts. The abortion-related standards consider not only laws protecting the health of women but also the legal rights of preborn babies. The assessment also evaluates laws relating to assisted suicide, cloning, egg harvesting, embryo research, embryo destruction, and protecting the freedom of conscience for healthcare workers.
In addition, each state assessment helpfully provides a pro-life legislative tracker to follow for updates on current legislative activity.
Jerry Cox, President of Family Council in Arkansas, an allied organization to Focus on the Family, celebrated the announcement in a statement released by the entity. “This is incredible news. Arkansas has the best laws in the nation when it comes to protecting innocent human life….”
He continued, “Being pro-life is about much more than opposing abortion. It’s about protecting innocent human life at all stages from conception until natural death. We look forward to continuing to defend the sanctity of human life in Arkansas.”
AUL noted that Colorado had the most disappointing performance of all states. It fell eight spots. In the last year, Colorado enacted legislation creating an alleged “fundamental right” to abortion and also proclaimed that preborn babies have no legal rights in the state.
Click here to see where your state ranks on the Life List.
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