In a significant step towards appearing on the November 2024 ballot, a proposed amendment to secure access to abortion care in the Arkansas state constitution has successfully obtained the required number of valid signatures. Arkansans for Limited Government, the driving force behind the ballot effort, announced on Friday that they have amassed over 100,000 signatures from registered voters. This surpasses the approximately 90,700 signatures needed before the July 5 deadline to proceed with the ballot process.

Unlike similar campaigns in other states, Arkansans for Limited Government does not receive support from prominent national abortion rights organizations such as Planned Parenthood. Furthermore, the group has fulfilled another state requirement by including signatures from at least 50 out of Arkansas' total 75 counties.

With this latest development, Arkansas becomes the final state among the nine states where organizers are working to enshrine abortion rights in their state constitutions in November to formally submit the necessary signatures to advance the process. Currently, the measures have been officially placed on the ballots in Colorado, Maryland, Florida, South Dakota, Nevada, and New York. In Arizona, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, and Arkansas, signatures have been submitted, but additional steps are required for certification before the measures can appear on the ballot.

The proposed Arkansas Abortion Amendment aims to protect access to abortion in the state constitution for up to 18 weeks after fertilization. It also seeks to safeguard access for pregnancies resulting from rape and incest, fatal fetal anomalies, and situations where the pregnant woman's life or physical health is at risk. The urgency for this amendment arises from a 2022 state law that effectively bans almost all abortion care in Arkansas following the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court. Currently, exceptions are only made when the mother's life is in danger.

Opponents of abortion in Arkansas, a predominantly conservative state, have vehemently opposed the advancement of this proposed amendment at every stage. Unlike most of the other states where abortion rights amendments have already been placed on the ballot, polls in Arkansas indicate that a majority of voters do not support the idea of legalizing abortion in all or most situations.

Overcoming these challenges has been a race against time for organizers, who needed every available moment to exceed the required 90,700 signatures. As of Monday, there were concerns as they were still approximately 10,000 signatures short of their overall goal and were yet to meet the per-county requirements in 10 remaining counties.

Additionally, the pro-life advocacy group American United for Life has rated Arkansas as the "most pro-life state in America" in 2024, further underlining the uphill battle faced by supporters of the proposed amendment.

The next steps in the Arkansas Abortion Amendment process involve certification, which requires additional scrutiny and verification of the collected signatures. If successful, Arkansas voters will have the opportunity to decide the fate of abortion access in the state come November 2024.