§ 20-16-1701. Title
This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the “Woman’s Right-to-Know Act”.
§ 20-16-1702. Definitions
As used in this subchapter: (1) (A) “Abortion” means the act of using or prescribing any instrument, medicine, drug, or other substance, device, or means with the intent to terminate the clinically diagnosable pregnancy of a woman with knowledge that the termination by those means will with reasonable likelihood cause the death of the unborn […]
§ 20-16-1703. Informed consent requirement
(a) A person shall not perform or induce an abortion without the voluntary and informed consent of the woman upon whom the abortion is to be performed or induced. (b) Except in the case of a medical emergency, consent to an abortion is voluntary and informed only if: (1) At least seventy-two (72) hours before […]
§ 20-16-1704. Publication of materials
(a) (1) The Department of Health shall: (A) Publish easily comprehensible printed materials and an informational DVD in English and Spanish within ninety (90) days after July 22, 2015; (B) Develop and maintain a secure internet website, which may be part of an existing website, to provide the information required under this subchapter; and (C) […]
§ 20-16-1705. Prevention of forced abortion — Signage in abortion facilities
(a) (1) A licensed facility where abortions are performed shall post a sign conspicuously in a location defined in subsection (b) of this section that is clearly visible to all individuals who enter and that features the text contained in subdivision (a)(2) of this section. (2) The sign shall display the following text: (b) The […]
§ 20-16-1706. Medical emergencies
When a medical emergency compels the performance of an abortion, the physician shall inform the woman before the abortion, if possible, of the medical indications supporting the physician’s judgment that an immediate abortion is necessary to avert her death or that a seventy-two-hour delay will cause substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function.
§ 20-16-1707. Rules — Collection and reporting of information
(a) The Department of Health shall develop and promulgate rules regarding reporting requirements. (b) (1) The Arkansas Center for Health Statistics of the Department of Health shall ensure that all information collected by the center regarding abortions performed in this state shall be available to the public in printed form and on a twenty-four-hour basis […]
§ 20-16-1708. Rules
(a) (1) The Department of Health shall adopt rules to implement this subchapter. (2) The department may add by rule additional examples of complications to supplement those in § 20-16-1703. (b) The Arkansas State Medical Board shall promulgate rules to ensure that physicians who perform abortions, referring physicians, or agents of either physician comply with […]
§ 20-16-1709. Criminal penalty
A person who intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly violates this subchapter commits a Class A misdemeanor.
§ 20-16-1710. Civil penalties
(a) In addition to any remedies available under the common law or statutory law of this state, failure to comply with the requirements of this subchapter shall provide a basis for a: (1) Civil malpractice action for actual and punitive damages; and (2) Professional disciplinary action under the Arkansas Medical Practices Act, § 17-95-201 et […]
§ 20-16-1711. Construction
(a) This subchapter does not create or recognize a right to abortion. (b) This subchapter is not intended to make lawful an abortion that is currently unlawful.