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abortion, Arkansas Cable Telecommunications Association, Arkansas State Government, Bobby Hogue, Dave Bisbee, Greg Yielding, Jim Hendren, legislature, Mike Everett, Pat Flanagin, pro-life, The Benton County Daily Record, Wayne Dowd
An overflow crowd of anti-abortion supporters filled the House of Representatives visitor’s gallery Wednesday to support a bill which would ban partial birth abortions.
The Fire Marshal asked supporters to clear the aisles where they sat. Extra State Troopers came into the galleries as well. When asked why they were there, one trooper replied, “Because I was told to be here. You get told to go, you go.”
The crowd didn’t have a long wait for HB 1351. When the morning hour of non-controversial bills was over, Rep. Jim Hendren, R-Sulphur Springs, asked the House to remove the bill from the Public Health, Welfare and Labor committee for immediate consideration. His motion didn’t get the 67 votes needed to remove the bill from committee.
Tuesday, the Senate passed the bill in amended form. Hendren said he believed the amendment “gutted” his bill, partly because it would allow doctors to perform a partial birth abortion if the mother’s health was at stake. The original bill would have allowed doctors to perform the procedure only if her life was at stake.
Hendren said the Senate should have voted on the bill in its original form, but “they didn’t want to face the people.” Continue reading