New legislation proposed in Arkansas would clarify that abortion by fraud is a crime.
H.B. 1551 by Rep. Jimmy Gazaway (R — Paragould) makes it a felony to secretly give a pregnant woman abortion-inducing drugs without her knowledge or consent.
Right now abortion in Arkansas is generally prohibited except to save the life of the mother, and it is illegal to deliver abortion-inducing drugs into the state. Arkansas also has laws prohibiting fetal homicide. However, Arkansas has no specific law addressing situations in which a person secretly gives abortion drugs like RU-486 to a pregnant woman.
In 2022 a Texas man placed abortion drugs in his pregnant wife’s water in order to cause the death of her unborn child, according to the Associated Press. Since then, states have begun proposing laws like H.B. 1551 to prevent this type of crime.
Abortion-inducing drugs take the life of an unborn child. They also carry significant health risks for women — including risks of sepsis and death. In some cases, abortion drugs actually can be more dangerous for women than surgical abortion procedures.
Our laws should do everything possible to protect women and unborn children from these dangerous drugs. H.B. 1551 is a good bill that will help do exactly that. You Can Read H.B. 1551 Here.
