Arkansas House Overwhelmingly Passes Bill to Protect Women and Children from Abortion Drugs
In what may be a record-setting vote, the state House of Representatives passed a good bill last week clarifying that abortion by fraud is a crime in Arkansas.
H.B. 1551 by Rep. Jimmy Gazaway (R — Paragould) makes it a felony to try to kill an unborn child by secretly giving 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 abortion drugs were secretly placed in Catherine Herring’s water in order to cause the death of her unborn child.
Ms. Herring suffered serious health complications and had to be hospitalized as a result. Since then, states have begun proposing laws like H.B. 1551 to prevent this type of crime.
Last Thursday the Arkansas House of Representatives passed H.B. 1551 by a vote of 99 to 0. That may be a state record. We are not aware of any other pro-life measure in Arkansas history that received that much support.
H.B. 1551 is a good bill that will help protect women and unborn children from dangerous abortion drugs. It now goes to the Arkansas Senate for consideration.
Articles appearing on this website are written with the aid of Family Council’s researchers and writers.
Senate Committee Backs Clarification to Arkansas Abortion Law
On Wednesday the Senate Public Health Committee passed a good bill to clarify Arkansas’ abortion laws.
Since 2022, Arkansas law has prohibited abortion except to save the life of the mother in a medical emergency. However, state law does not provide clear guidance about how doctors determine if a woman’s life is in jeopardy.
H.B. 1610 by Rep. Robin Lundstrum (R — Elm Springs) and Sen. Jimmy Hickey (R — Texarkana) would clarify the definition of “medical emergency” in Arkansas’ pro-life law.
The bill would strengthen legal protections for doctors who treat pregnant women. It would also close loopholes in the current abortion law — making it clear that abortion in Arkansas is prohibited except to save the mother’s life.
Arkansas has been named the most pro-life state in America, and over the years lawmakers have enacted dozens of good measures protecting women and unborn children from abortion.
H.B. 1610 is a good bill that would bring better clarity to Arkansas’ abortion laws and make it easier for the state to continue protecting innocent human life. The bill now goes to the entire Arkansas Senate for consideration.
Below is video footage of Sen. Hickey presenting H.B. 1610 during Wednesday’s committee meeting.