After rejecting two prior proposals as being unclear or misleading (1 , 2 ) on Tuesday, Arkansas Attorney General Tim Griffin certified the popular name and ballot title for a proposed constitutional amendment that, if adopted by voters, will liberalize abortion rules in Arkansas. The ballot proposal describes the changes as follows in part:
... [T]his amendment changes Arkansas law by amending the Arkansas Constitution to provide that the government of the State of Arkansas, its officers, or its political subdivisions shall not prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion services (1) in cases of rape, (2) in cases of incest, (3) in the event of a fatal fetal anomaly, or (4) when, in a physician’s good-faith medical judgment, abortion services are needed to protect a pregnant female’s life or to protect a pregnant female from a physical disorder, physical illness, or physical injury; to provide that the government of the State of Arkansas, its officers, or its political subdivisions shall not prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion services within 18 weeks of fertilization....
As reported by the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, the Attorney General's approval allows proponents to begin to collect 90,704 signatures needed to get the proposal on the November 2024 ballot.
