Abortion in Arkansas

Abortion in Arkansas is illegal except when it is necessary to save the life of the mother.[1] Doctors determined to have performed an abortion face up to 10 years in prison and fines up to $100,000.[1][2]

History

Legislative history
Status of the "heartbeat bills", i.e. abortion bans at around 6 weeks, by state (exceptions not marked):
  Heartbeat bills supplemented or rendered moot by abortion bans at all stages
  Abortion bans at all stages, but heartbeat bills blocked
  Other states with abortion bans at all stages, or states without abortion providers
  Heartbeat bill in force, without total abortion bans
  Heartbeat law partially passed by state legislature
  Law passed but blocked or struck down by court order

By the end of the 1800s, all states in the Union except Louisiana had therapeutic exceptions in their legislative bans on abortions.[3] In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Arkansas, Colorado, Georgia, Maryland, New Mexico, North Carolina and Oregon made reforms to their abortion laws, with most of these states providing more detailed medical guidance on when therapeutic abortions could be performed.[3] An amendment to the state constitution in 1988 said, "The policy of Arkansas is to protect the life of every unborn child from conception until birth, to the extent permitted by the Federal Constitution.[4]

The state was one of twenty-three states in 2007 to have a detailed abortion-specific informed consent requirement.[5] Georgia, Michigan, Arkansas and Idaho all required in 2007 that women must be provided by an abortion clinic with the option to view an image of their fetus if an ultrasound is used prior to the abortion taking place.[6] Arkansas, Minnesota and Oklahoma all require that women seeking abortions after 20-weeks be verbally informed that the fetus may feel pain during the abortion procedure despite a Journal of the American Medical Association conclusion that pain sensors do not develop in the fetus until between weeks 23 and 30.[6] Informed consent materials about fetal pain at 20-weeks in Arkansas, Georgia and Oklahoma says, "the unborn child has the physical structures necessary to experience pain." The Journal of the American Medical Association has concluded that pain sensors do not develop in the fetus until between weeks 23 and 30.[6] In 2013, state Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) law applied to medication induced abortions and private doctor offices.[7]

A bill banning abortion after twelve weeks was passed on January 31, 2013, by the Arkansas Senate,[8][9] but vetoed in Arkansas by Governor Mike Beebe, but, on March 6, 2013, his veto was overridden by the Arkansas House of Representatives.[9][10] A federal judge issued a temporary injunction against the Arkansas law in May 2013,[11] and in March 2014, it was struck down by federal judge Susan Webber Wright, who described the law as unconstitutional.[12]

Judicial history

The US Supreme Court's decision in 1973's Roe v. Wade ruling meant the state could no longer regulate abortion in the first trimester.[3]

In May 2013, a federal judge blocked the implementation of the legislation passed in March 2013.[9] On May 27, 2015, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court ruling and permanently blocked the law from being enforced.[13] In January 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case, leaving the Eighth Circuit's ruling in place.[14]

Clinic history
Number of abortion clinics in Arkansas by year

Between 1982 and 1992, the number of abortion clinics in the state decreased by five, going from thirteen in 1982 to eight in 1992.[4] In 2014, there were three abortion clinics in the state.[15] In 2014, 97% of the counties in the state did not have an abortion clinic. That year, 77% of women in the state aged 15–44 lived in a county without an abortion clinic.[16] As of 2019, the state had one Planned Parenthood clinic, which offered abortion services.[17]

Statistics

In the period between 1972 and 1974, there were zero recorded illegal abortion deaths in the state.[18] In 1990, 241,000 women in the state faced the risk of an unintended pregnancy.[4] In 2010, the state had no publicly funded abortions.[19] In 2013, among white women aged 15–19, there were 270 abortions, 240 abortions for black women aged 15–19, 40 abortions for Hispanic women aged 15–19, and 10 abortions for women of all other races.[20] In 2014, 38% of adults said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.[21] In 2017, the state had an infant mortality rate of 8.2 deaths per 1,000 live births.[22]

Number of reported abortions, abortion rate and percentage change in rate by geographic region and state in 1992, 1995 and 1996[23]
Census division and stateNumberRate % change 1992–1996
199219951996199219951996
US Total1,528,9301,363,6901,365,73025.922.922.9–12
West South Central127,070119,200120,61019.61818.1–8
Arkansas7,1306,0106,20013.511.111.4–15
Louisiana13,60014,82014,74013.414.714.710
Oklahoma8,9409,1308,40012.512.911.8–5
Texas97,40089,24091,27023.120.520.7–10
Number, rate, and ratio of reported abortions, by reporting area of residence and occurrence and by percentage of abortions obtained by out-of-state residents, US CDC estimates
LocationResidenceOccurrence % obtained by
out-of-state residents		 YearRef
No.Rate^Ratio^^No.Rate^Ratio^^
Arkansas 7,130 13.5 1992 [23]
Arkansas 6,010 11.1 1995 [23]
Arkansas 6,200 11.4 1996 [23]
Arkansas4,0247.01044,2537.411022.22014[24]
Arkansas3,8056.6983,7716.59718.62015[25]
Arkansas 3,432 6.0 90 3,207 5.6 84 16.5 2016 [26]
^number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44; ^^number of abortions per 1,000 live births

Abortion rights views and activities

Protests

Women from the state participated in marches supporting abortion rights as part of a #StoptheBans movement in May 2019.[27]

References
  1. Blumenthal, Paul (2022-06-14). "These States Will Ban Abortion Now That Roe Is Overturned". HuffPost. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
  2. "Document".
  3. Buell, Samuel (1991-01-01). "Criminal Abortion Revisited". New York University Law Review. 66 (6): 1774–1831. PMID 11652642.
  4. Arndorfer, Elizabeth; Michael, Jodi; Moskowitz, Laura; Grant, Juli A.; Siebel, Liza (December 1998). A State-By-State Review of Abortion and Reproductive Rights. DIANE Publishing. ISBN 9780788174810.
  5. "State Policy On Informed Consent for Abortion" (PDF). Guttmacher Policy Review. Fall 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
  6. "State Abortion Counseling Policies and the Fundamental Principles of Informed Consent". Guttmacher Institute. 2007-11-12. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  7. "TRAP Laws Gain Political Traction While Abortion Clinics—and the Women They Serve—Pay the Price". Guttmacher Institute. 2013-06-27. Retrieved 2019-05-27.
  8. Parker, Suzi (January 31, 2013). "Arkansas Senate passes fetal heartbeat law to ban most abortions". Reuters. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
  9. "Abortion Restrictions in States". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  10. Bassett, Laura (March 6, 2013). "Arkansas 12-Week Abortion Ban Becomes Law". Huffington Post. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  11. "Ark. 'heartbeat' abortion law blocked - Washington Times". The Washington Times.
  12. AP (March 15, 2014). "U.S. judge strikes Arkansas' 12-week abortion ban". USA Today. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
  13. "Arkansas Human Heartbeat Protection Act (SB 134)". rewire.news. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
  14. "Heartbeat Bans". rewire.news. Retrieved February 10, 2019. In January 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case, leaving the Eighth Circuit's ruling in place.
  15. Gould, Rebecca Harrington, Skye. "The number of abortion clinics in the US has plunged in the last decade — here's how many are in each state". Business Insider. Retrieved 2019-05-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  16. Panetta, Grace; lee, Samantha (2018-08-04). "This is what could happen if Roe v. Wade fell". Business Insider (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 2019-05-24. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  17. "Health Centers - Arkansas - Planned Parenthood".
  18. Cates, Willard; Rochat, Roger (March 1976). "Illegal Abortions in the United States: 1972–1974". Family Planning Perspectives. 8 (2): 86–92. doi:10.2307/2133995. JSTOR 2133995. PMID 1269687.
  19. "Guttmacher Data Center". data.guttmacher.org. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  20. "No. of abortions among women aged 15–19, by state of residence, 2013 by racial group". Guttmacher Data Center. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
  21. "Views about abortion by state - Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics". Pew Research Center. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
  22. "States pushing abortion bans have highest infant mortality rates". NBC News. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
  23. Henshaw, Stanley K. (2005-06-15). "Abortion Incidence and Services in the United States, 1995-1996". Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health. 30: 263–270. Retrieved 2019-06-02.
  24. Jatlaoui, Tara C. (2017). "Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2014". MMWR. Surveillance Summaries. 66 (24): 1–48. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6624a1. ISSN 1546-0738. PMC 6289084. PMID 29166366.
  25. Jatlaoui, Tara C. (2018). "Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2015". MMWR. Surveillance Summaries. 67 (13): 1–45. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6713a1. ISSN 1546-0738. PMC 6289084. PMID 30462632.
  26. Jatlaoui, Tara C. (2019). "Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2016". MMWR. Surveillance Summaries. 68 (11): 1–41. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6811a1. ISSN 1546-0738. PMID 31774741.
  27. Bacon, John. "Abortion rights supporters' voices thunder at #StopTheBans rallies across the nation". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
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