A notable article about the Arkansas Abortion Support Network and its initiatives to keep a pro-choice resource center for expectant mothers in Arkansas was published by Mother Jones on Monday.
The narrative, which is available for free, centers on grassroots initiatives in Arkansas, Indiana, and Ohio to establish areas where expectant mothers can consider all of their options, including abortion, following the Dobbs ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022, which abolished the right to have abortion nationwide.
Arkansas has one of the strictest abortion laws in the nation. The state only permits abortions when a mother’s life is in immediate danger; rape and incest are not covered by the statute. (In spite of the restriction, data indicates that thousands of Arkansas citizens continue to get abortions annually, either by traveling to places where abortion is legal or by ordering pills online.)
Mother Jones discussed the need for pro-choice resources and an alternative to pro-life crisis pregnancy centers in Arkansas and elsewhere that receive millions of state taxpayer funds and discourage pregnant women from considering abortions with Karen Musick, a longtime abortion rights organizer whom we have frequently interviewed.
The YOU Center, the only pro-choice pregnancy resource center in the state, is run by the Arkansas Abortion Support Network in Little Rock.
According to the story, the YOU Center and other resource centers around the nation have taken inspiration from a similar initiative carried out by a group in Indiana.
From Mom Jones:
Crisis pregnancy centers, sometimes referred to as pregnancy resource centers, have long been at the forefront of the anti-abortion movement’s efforts to assist women dealing with unintended pregnancies. There are around 50 in Arkansas alone, one of which is near to the YOU Center.Many centers have long been accused by doctors, lawmakers, and reproductive rights organizations of disguising themselves as abortion clinics in order to draw in potential customers and try to discourage them from having the operation, instead encouraging women to adopt or have children. They don’t advertise birth control or emergency contraception, but they usually provide free pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, and baby supplies. This year, the state of Arkansas allocated $2 million in public subsidies to crisis pregnancy centers that oppose abortion.
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