Don’t sign new abortion petition, Bishop Taylor asks

If enough petition signatures are collected, abortion would be on November ballot

Published: February 16, 2024

By Arkansas Catholic Staff

Malea Hargett

A man holds up a sign that says "Stop abortion now" during the March for Life Jan. 22 in Little Rock. A petition initiative is trying to get enough signatures to put abortion through 18 weeks after conception on the ballot.

Malea Hargett

Bishop Anthony B. Taylor is encouraging Catholics to not sign a petition that could put a constitutional amendment on the November ballot to allow abortion through 18 weeks after conception.

On Jan. 23, Attorney General Tim Griffin approved a ballot measure, called the Arkansas Abortion Amendment, that would allow abortion for any reason in the state, “which for the last 18 months has had virtually no legal abortions,” Arkansas Right to Life stated.

Canvassers must collect at least 90,704 signatures from registered voters by July 5 to get on the Nov. 5 general election ballot.

In a letter released Feb. 12, Bishop Taylor said, “During this campaign to enshrine abortion in our constitution, we expect that our media will be flooded with emotional propaganda. We should all know the truth about abortion and women’s health care. Abortion, the direct and intentional killing of a child in the womb, is never morally permissible. Abortion is never medically necessary… It is not the same as treatment for miscarriage because in miscarriage the baby has already died.

“Banning abortion does not prevent women from receiving true health care that they need. In rare cases, and in the absence of better alternatives, life-threatening maternal health conditions may require interventions that indirectly and unintentionally lead to the death of an unborn child, but this is not abortion.”

If it gets on the ballot and is approved by voters, Bishop Taylor said the amendment would gut “the state’s regulatory laws like requiring parental consent before a minor has an abortion, informed consent and ultrasound requirements or abortion facility inspection. Arkansas would be unable to protect unborn children who can already feel pain from dismemberment abortion.”

The bishop added, “It is critical that all registered voters decline to sign the petition to allow the Arkansas Abortion Amendment on the November 2024 ballot.”

Rose Mimms, executive director of Arkansas Right to Life, said, "The women of our state and the babies they carry deserve better than to have our state constitution altered for the sake of the profit-driven abortion industry.”

For more information on the ARTL "Decline to Sign" campaign, visit artl.org/decline-to-sign-campaign.

Bishop Taylor wants you to know more about your faith & the Church: Sign up for Arkansas Catholic's free digital edition.