As march nears, Boozman gets pro-life nod; state noted for pro-life efforts

Two days before the Annual March For Life in Little Rock, U.S. Sen. John Boozman, R-Ark., has been endorsed by the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC), while Arkansas has been ranked by Americans United for Life as the nation’s fourth most pro-life state.

The NRLC cited Boozman’s 100% pro-life voting record in making its endorsement. A press release from Boozman’s campaign said he has opposed using taxpayer dollars to fund abortions, opposed partial-birth abortions, and supported legislation to prevent pregnant minors from being transported across state lines to avoid notifying their parents. He authored legislation to grant parents the ability to stop an abortion involving their daughter and supported the rights of medical providers who oppose abortion.

Boozman was quoted in the release saying, “The way we treat the voiceless and most powerless among us speaks volumes about our priorities and values as a society. From the child in the womb to the hospitalized senior, we share a moral responsibility to respect the dignity of all human beings – regardless of their political clout in Washington.”

Curtis Coleman, who is running against Boozman in the Republican primary, said the endorsement wasn’t a surprise.

“The senator has been consistent in his defense of life at conception, and we have that entirely in common. … I think his endorsement is based on his voting record, and something that the National Right to Life organization can’t look at my voting record as of yet, but I think that endorsement is appropriate and not at all surprising,” he said.

Boozman will be at the 38th Annual March for Life, which will be Sunday at 2 p.m. in Little Rock to coincide with the 43rd anniversary of the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion. Also participating will be Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) and the first lady, Susan Hutchinson, and U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman, R-Hot Springs. The march begins at Capitol Avenue and Wolfe Street at 2 p.m. and culminates at the Capitol.

Americans United for Life ranked Arkansas the fourth most pro-life state in the nation, behind top-ranked Oklahoma, Kansas, and Louisiana and just ahead of Mississippi and Nebraska. The ranking is based “on how well they protect life in law,” according to the group’s website.

Arkansas was one of three states the group named as a “2016 Life List All Star” because of its passage of seven abortion-related laws that include:
• Requiring a physician to examine a woman before administering drugs that induce abortions;
• Requiring that women be given information on abortion’s risks and alternatives and on the ability of a fetus to feel pain at 20 weeks;
• Requiring parental consent before a minor’s abortion; and
• Prohibiting the providing of state and federal funds to entities providing abortions or abortion referrals.

According to the Family Council, an Arkansas-based organization, this is the eighth year in a row Arkansas has been ranked in the top five. In a Family Council press release, the group’s president, Jerry Cox, said pro-life Arkansans also should support pregnancy and adoption centers for women with unplanned pregnancies.

“Being pro-life means a lot more than being against abortion,” Cox said in the release. “Being pro-life also means taking good care of the elderly in nursing homes, providing homes for foster children, and viewing every innocent human life as sacred.”

Talk Business & Politics reached out to Planned Parenthood for comment.