Signed by Governor Asa Hutchinson

Vote Smart's Synopsis:

Vote to pass a bill that authorizes a municipality to declare itself a "pro-life" city.

Highlights:

• Authorizes a municipality to state the following by resolution (Sec. 1.a):

• That the policy of the municipality is to promote and protect the dignity and humanity of all persons at all stages of life from conception until natural death;

• That the municipality is to be known as a "Pro-Life City"; and

• The following findings:

• The Declaration of Independence declares that all men are created equal and that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, including the right to life;

• The Arkansas constitution states that the policy of the state is to protect the life of every unborn child from conception until birth;

• State and local government must protect the unalienable right to life of every person within each respective jurisdiction; and

• The United States Supreme Court found that the United States Constitution does not prohibit a municipality using democratic processes from expressing a preference for childbirth rather than abortion.

• Authorizes a municipality that passes a resolution to promote the Pro-Life City status in a manner consistent with other law, including without limitation by (Sec. 1.b):

• Placing signs along rights-of-way near the boundaries of the municipality;

• Advertising in any promotion, advertisement, or public relations effort;

• Placing signs or banners on municipal property;

• Placing a slogan or other notation on municipal utility billing or other communications to municipal residents;

• Producing and distributing signs, decals, or other material for businesses or residents to voluntarily use and display;

• Promoting at festivals, parades, or other public events;

• Urging municipal employees to develop and implement innovative and creative ways for promotion;

• Placing a slogan or other notation on publicly owned vehicles;

• Declaring pro-life observances, such as a pro-life day or pro-life month;

• Encouraging local schools and civic clubs to promote the dignity of human life;

• Encouraging local places of worship to promote the sanctity of human life;

• Erecting monuments or other permanent memorials to lives lost to abortion;

• Establishing a cemetery or other place for the dignified burial of the unborn and for memorials to those who have died in an abortion; and

• Using public service announcements.

Full Bill Text