Arkansas Legislature Advances Bills That Restrict Abortion Access ualrpublicradio.org - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from ualrpublicradio.org Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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Arkansas Surgeon General Greg Bledsoe announced Thursday that he will seek the Republican nomination for Lt. Governor in 2022.
He has served as the state’s surgeon general since 2015 when he was appointed by Gov. Asa Hutchinson. Bledsoe has been one of the governor’s chief advisors through the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bledsoe is an emergency room physician and earned his medical degree from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. After a residency at UAMS, he spent five years on the faculty in the Johns Hopkins Department of Emergency Medicine.
“After much prayer and discussion with family and supporters all over the state, I have decided to announce as a candidate for Lt. Governor. I am a physician, not a politician, and I do not see this campaign as a ‘next step’ in a political career. We need fresh ideas and new faces in our Capitol, not a revolving door of the same names and candidates for every office,” Bledsoe tells Talk Bus
Ultrasound abortion bill stalls in Arkansas Senate committee
Ultrasound abortion bill stalls in Arkansas Senate committee SEN. CECILE BLEDSOE (file photo) Brian Chilson
Not a single advocate for reproductive rights signed up to testify Wednesday in a committee meeting where state senators were expected to pass a bill requiring doctors to show women ultrasounds of their fetuses before those women can secure abortions. It’s hard to blame them. The eight-member committee is a solid red block, and Arkansas Republicans tend to fall in line on this issue.
But the bill, SB 85, was pulled at the last minute, after
Arkansas Right to Life spokesperson