For the 6th straight year, Arkansas has been ranked as the most pro-life state in America. That according to annual rankings released by the anti-abortion group known as Americans United For life (AUL). The organization says Arkansas earned the designation due to its many laws against abortion passed over the years.
As Little Rock Public Radio reports, Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders celebrated the title at a press conference earlier this week. “The Dobbs decision, which overturned the Supreme Court’s disastrous ruling on Roe v. Wade, came down in June [24] of 2022 and six months later, I was sworn in as Arkansas’ first female governor. Because of that ruling, Arkansas was able to enforce its total protection for unborn life at every stage of pregnancy.”
In fact, AUL CEO John Mize singled out Gov. Sanders in the organization’s October 27, 2025 announcement of the annual rankings stating, “We thank the pro-life leadership of Arkansas, including Governor Sanders, for their dedication to life, protecting the vulnerable from abortion, assisted suicide and any other means to diminish the dignity of the human person. Americans United for Life encourages Arkansas in their continued fight for life now and in battles to come.”
On Thursday, August 22, 2024, in a 4-3 decision the Arkansas Supreme Court upheld the state’s rejection of an abortion ballot measure that would have let voters decide the question. Election officials had ruled that the group behind the measure failed to satisfy the legal requirements to place an amendment on the November ballot.
In its statement this week, the AUL also recognized what it called “the diligent work of the Arkansas Family Council (AFC), Arkansas Right to Life (ARTL) and many pro-life legislators who AFC President Jerry Cox has noted having ‘passed at least sixty-five good, pro-life measures since 2011.’”
AUL ranks Louisiana #2 in its 2026 Life List, Oklahoma #4, and Texas #13. AUL leaders say they look at each state’s protections for life from conception to natural death. This includes laws on abortion, legal recognition of preborn children, bioethics, assisted suicide and end-of-life patient care, and healthcare rights of conscience. Additionally, states are awarded points for their life-affirming cultural and political landscape and momentum.
