As of Wednesday, July 10, the Arkansas abortion amendment will not be on the state’s November ballot. The thought behind these words has been the hope, plea, and prayer for many within the state. And the victory extends beyond retaining the ability to protect unborn life in the state to include a successful grassroots effort among local pro-life advocates.
The Arkansas Secretary of State determined the radical abortion amendment initiative was insufficient and failed to meet the provisions required in the state. After review of the 101,525 submitted signatures, only 87,382 proved valid.
While the abortion amendment’s supporters were challenging the Secretary of State’s decision at press time, life-affirming residents and pregnancy help organizations statewide were celebrating this victory as unborn children will continue to receive protection from abortion in Arkansas.
Arkansas Right to Life shared specifics as part of the Decline to Sign campaign to raise awareness of the severity of the abortion ballot initiative, stating it was deceptive, deadly, and dangerous.
“The amendment would have enshrined abortion up until the moment of birth in some instances,” the group said. “It was dangerous as it allowed room for the lives of unborn children to be intentionally ended at 5 months gestation while developmentally capable of feeling pain. It was deadly as it was developed to render laws currently in place to protect the life of the unborn, parental rights, and the pregnant mother null and void.”
“If this ballot measure was adopted, it would have made it impossible and illegal to pass any common-sense protections for the unborn child and her mother in the future,” Arkansas Right to Life said further.
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Communicating the truth behind this abortion ballot initiative to Arkansas residents was a crucial task that required faith, sacrifice, and perseverance, as abortion activists have been working to codify abortion in state constitutions since the June 2022 Dobbs ruling overturning Roe v. Wade, often with well-funded campaigns at times masking the objective of a given initiative. Those behind the Decline to Sign initiative remained determined as unwavering voices fearlessly committed to standing for what is right.
GenZ pro-life advocate Pyrce Renfroe of Arkansas played a significant part in the Arkansas Decline to Sign campaign and its success. He recognized that for this initiative to succeed there needed to be clear and accurate communication with pro-life supporters throughout the state. Renfroe created an effective communication platform through a dedicated Facebook page for Arkansans for Life.
Renfroe said the Arkansans for Life group was started as a way for the Arkansas pro-life movement to have a quick and publicly accessible means of communication.
“What I feel our side tends to do is have a lot of independent ideas, which can lead to mixed messaging being delivered to the people on the ground,” he said. “I was not aware of a centralized platform for pro-lifers in our state to share ideas and connect with other like-minded people, and I saw not only an opening for it but also a need whenever Arkansas Democrats announced that they would be pursuing a constitutional amendment to enshrine abortion in our state constitution.”
Renfroe wanted to help address some of these issues from an angle that hadn't been tried before to see what they could achieve if everyone was on the same page, he said, instead of trying to coordinate from an email list or mass mail campaign. He worked for unity and collaboration among the pro-life movement in the state in course of the Decline to Sign campaign.
“From the start of this process, I have encouraged Arkansas leaders in the pro-life movement to participate as an effective and direct way to share information about our movement across the state and our message has been seen by tens of thousands of people,” Renfroe said. “As a result, we were able to help coordinate Decline to Sign groups across the state using intel that we were publishing to our people through an avenue that was not previously available.”
“This movement ultimately helped stop the amendment from advancing to the November ballot,” he said. “After the Secretary of State found that paid canvassers used by the pro-abortion group were in violation of state law, petitioners fell 3,322 signatures short of the 90,704 required to submit signatures in the first place.”
Tweet This: The Arkansas pro-life movement ultimately helped stop the radical abortion amendment from advancing to the November ballot.
Renfroe is confident that the way things played out with the Decline to Sign campaign will mean a galvanized, effective pro-life effort going forward.
“I firmly believe that pro-life Arkansans across the state who sacrificed time, resources, and energy to stop the collection of signatures are the reason why our state will continue to be able to protect the babies and families of our state,” he said.
As pro-life Arkansans are celebrating this failed abortion amendment, they are also celebrating the unity that occurred through like-minded individuals rising in agreement together to stand for life.
The outcome has Renfroe enthused.
“I am incredibly encouraged!” he said. “Arkansas has been the number one pro-life state in America for the last four years (according to Americans United for Life annual ranking), and I expect that with this latest attempt to legalize abortion falling flat, we have a very high chance of being ranked 1st for the 5th year in a row.”
Renfroe, who advises the Arkansas Teenage Republicans group, looks forward to working with the state legislature to continue making Arkansas safe for women and babies.
With that in mind, the work is just getting started, he said, as the pro-abortion movement has already committed to making further attempts in 2026 and 2028.
“Now is not the time for our movement to become complacent,” Renfroe said. “We have essentially been given an 18-month head start to educate and inform the people of Arkansas about the detrimental and permanent changes they want to see made to our constitution.”
Citing the Dobbs decision as having returned the ability to decide abortion policy to the states and the common misconception that the pro-life movement reached the finish line with Dobbs, Renfroe said, “Now more than ever, we must continue charging boldly ahead to protect the most vulnerable in our society.”
“This is just as much a cultural issue as it is a legislative one,” she said, “and now is not the time for timidity within our movement and especially within the church.”
“I am looking forward to continuing to help shift our culture towards one that protects life and am hopeful and encouraged about what it means not only for our state but also for our nation,” added Renfroe.
Another impactful voice in this initiative was Christy Renfroe, executive director of ChoiceCare pregnancy help medical clinic in Russellville, Ark., and coincidentally, mother of Pyrce Renfroe.
“Raising awareness across the communities of Arkansas was certainly a grassroots effort,” she said. “We held meetings with leaders and pastors, we sent emails and text messages, and we coordinated and trained community members to be able to share truth at community events.”
When the news came that the Arkansas abortion amendment would not be on our ballot in November, Christy Renfroe said she screamed in excitement and then cried.
“I cried and celebrated the lives of babies in Arkansas that will be saved,” she said, “but I also cried for the hearts of the mothers and fathers that can still choose life if they aren't simply convinced that abortion is the normal way.”
She echoed Pyrce Renfroe’s thoughts on the success of the Decline to Sign campaign in that there is both time and work ahead.
“It means that we have a little more time and a lot more work ahead to continue protecting and providing a culture of life here in our state, and that is what our team intends to do,” Christy Renfroe said.
“May we all unite in our efforts for life internationally with prayers, hard work, sacrifice and perseverance,” she added, “as we all agree, big things can happen through God and through our working together.”
