Arkansas has been named the "most pro-life state in America" by Americans United for Life (AUL) for the seventh straight year, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders announced Wednesday. The announcement was made alongside leaders from AUL and the Arkansas Family Council.
The ranking is part of AUL's annual Life List, which evaluates all 50 states based on their laws covering abortion, assisted suicide, end-of-life care, and related issues. The organization, based in Washington, D.C., has placed Arkansas at the top of its rankings every year since 2021.
Governor Sanders highlighted the state’s legal and policy measures as evidence of its ongoing commitment to protecting life. "Every life is a gift from our Creator, made in His image, and is worth defending," Sanders said. "As Governor, I will continue fighting for every Arkansan, at every stage of life, and make our state the best place to live, work, and raise a family."
Arkansas law bans abortion at all stages of pregnancy except to save the life of the mother. The law does not allow exceptions for cases of rape or incest. These strict measures were fully enacted in June 2022, following the U.S. Supreme Court's decision to overturn *Roe v. Wade* in its *Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization* ruling. That decision activated a 2019 Arkansas trigger law designed to enforce a near-total abortion ban in the state.
According to the governor’s office, Arkansas has enacted more than 65 abortion-related restrictions in the past 53 years. Governor Sanders has also signed additional legislation aimed at addressing other facets of maternal and fetal health. These measures include banning abortions sought due to the race of the unborn child and prohibiting the distribution of abortion-inducing drugs without a pregnant woman’s explicit consent. Earlier this year, Sanders signed the Healthy Moms, Healthy Babies Act, which allocates $45 million toward prenatal care, doula services, community health worker reimbursements, and remote resources for pregnancy.
The state has also directed funding toward adoption and foster care improvements. In 2023, an additional $1 million was included in the budget for foster care placements. For the first time since the state began keeping such data, fewer than 200 children across Arkansas are currently waiting for adoption.
Leaders of pro-life organizations praised Arkansas’s continued recognition on AUL’s Life List. "Thanks to the spirited work of grassroots pro-lifers, Arkansas continues to lead as the most pro-life state in the nation, as it has every year under the leadership of Governor Sanders," said John Mize, AUL’s CEO.
Jerry Cox, president of the Arkansas Family Council, also lauded the state’s ranking as a reflection of its commitment to valuing vulnerable lives, emphasizing that the goal remains to make Arkansas "the safest place in America" for vulnerable populations. Arkansas Right to Life Executive Director Amber Singleton said the group intends to focus on addressing the presence of what she referred to as "unlawful, deregulated abortion pills" in the state and on education regarding fetal development and alternatives to abortion.
Meanwhile, abortion-rights advocates have pushed back against the state’s restrictive measures. Efforts to place a 2024 ballot initiative allowing abortions up to 18 weeks of pregnancy failed earlier this year after the secretary of state invalidated signatures gathered by paid canvassers — a decision later upheld by the Arkansas Supreme Court.