JONESBORO, Ark. (KAIT) – Within minutes of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, Arkansas politicians weighed in with their thoughts.
Calling Roe a “tragic mistake,” U.S. Senator Tom Cotton said the country’s highest court had “finally corrected this mistake.”
He also commended those who fought to have the 50-year-old decision overturned.
“I highly commend the millions of Americans who toiled for years to achieve this great victory for unborn life and self-government,” Cotton said.
U.S. Senator John Boozman echoed Cotton’s statement, calling June 24, 2022, a “long-awaited, consequential day for our nation.”
Boozman said the Supreme Court’s decision was the “culmination of decades of work to correct the tragic, deadly lie that unborn babies are expendable and undeserving of protection.”
The senator commended those Arkansans who opposed Roe v. Wade.
“I am proud of Arkansas’s steadfast commitment to defend the sanctity, dignity and value of every human life, including vulnerable children who deserve our compassion and care,” he concluded.
In a tweet following Friday’s decision, Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson said he thought Roe v. Wade was “wrongly decided” for decades.
“Today, the Supreme Court overturned the abortion ruling and returned the issue to the states,” Hutchinson said. “Arkansas is a pro-life state, and we are able now to protect life.”
Rick Crawford, who represents Arkansas’s 1st District, applauded the “historic ruling.”
“We all owe a debt of gratitude to the justices, who have been steadfast in their work despite the unprecedented threats directed against them and their families by pro-abortion extremists,” Crawford said, alluding to the arrest of a California man who threatened to kill Justice Brett Kavanaugh earlier this month.
The congressman said “lives will be saved” because of the court’s decision.
“But the battle to win the hearts and minds of the American people continues,” Crawford said. “In every state we must defend the right to life for not-yet-born girls and boys, and fight to protect vulnerable mothers from the greed and callousness of the abortion industry.”
In 2019, state lawmakers approved legislation banning most abortions 18 weeks into a woman’s pregnancy, one of the most restrictive in the country.
Arkansas has a so-called “trigger law” banning all abortions unless the procedure is done to save the mother’s life.
Now that the Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, the law will go into effect immediately.
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