Abortion in Arkansas is illegal[1] except when it is necessary to save the life of the pregnant individual.[2] Doctors determined to have performed an abortion face up to 10 years in prison and fines up to $100,000.[2][3]
History
editLegislative history
edit
By the end of the 1800s, all states in the Union except Louisiana had therapeutic exceptions in their legislative bans on abortions.[4] 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.[4] 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.[5]
The state was one of twenty-three states in 2007 to have a detailed abortion-specific informed consent requirement.[6] 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.[7] 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.[7] 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.[7] In 2013, state Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) law applied to medication induced abortions and private doctor offices.[8]
A bill banning abortion after twelve weeks was passed on January 31, 2013, by the Arkansas Senate,[9][10] but vetoed in Arkansas by Governor Mike Beebe, but, on March 6, 2013, his veto was overridden by the Arkansas House of Representatives.[10][11] A federal judge issued a temporary injunction against the Arkansas law in May 2013,[12] and in March 2014, it was struck down by federal judge Susan Webber Wright, who described the law as unconstitutional.[13]
The Trigger Law SB149[1] was filed in the Arkansas Senate on January 22, 2019, by Jason Rapert and Mary Bentley. It became law on February 20, 2019. It bans all abortions, with the only exception being for the life of the pregnant individual. Performing an abortion is an unclassified felony with a fine of up to $100,000 or 10 years imprisonment.
Judicial history
editThe US Supreme Court's decision in 1973's Roe v. Wade ruling meant the state could no longer regulate abortion in the first trimester.[4]
In May 2013, a federal judge blocked the implementation of the legislation passed in March 2013.[10] On May 27, 2015, the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a lower court ruling and permanently blocked the law from being enforced.[14] In January 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the case, leaving the Eighth Circuit's ruling in place.[15]
On June 24, 2022, the United States Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade in the case of Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.[16] This triggered SB149's abortion ban.
Clinic history
edit
Between 1982 and 1992, the number of abortion clinics in the state decreased by five, going from thirteen in 1982 to eight in 1992.[5] In 2014, there were three abortion clinics in the state.[17] 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.[18] As of 2019, the state had one Planned Parenthood clinic, which offered abortion services.[19]
Statistics
editIn the period between 1972 and 1974, there were zero recorded illegal abortion deaths in the state.[20] In 1990, 241,000 women in the state faced the risk of an unintended pregnancy.[5] In 2010, the state had no publicly funded abortions.[21] 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.[22] In 2014, 38% of adults said in a poll by the Pew Research Center that abortion should be legal in all or most cases.[23] In 2017, the state had an infant mortality rate of 8.2 deaths per 1,000 live births.[24]
| Census division and state | Number | Rate | % change 1992–1996 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | 1995 | 1996 | 1992 | 1995 | 1996 | ||
| US Total | 1,528,930 | 1,363,690 | 1,365,730 | 25.9 | 22.9 | 22.9 | –12 |
| West South Central | 127,070 | 119,200 | 120,610 | 19.6 | 18 | 18.1 | –8 |
| Arkansas | 7,130 | 6,010 | 6,200 | 13.5 | 11.1 | 11.4 | –15 |
| Louisiana | 13,600 | 14,820 | 14,740 | 13.4 | 14.7 | 14.7 | 10 |
| Oklahoma | 8,940 | 9,130 | 8,400 | 12.5 | 12.9 | 11.8 | –5 |
| Texas | 97,400 | 89,240 | 91,270 | 23.1 | 20.5 | 20.7 | –10 |
| Location | Residence | Occurrence | % obtained by out-of-state residents |
Year | Ref | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Rate^ | Ratio^^ | No. | Rate^ | Ratio^^ | ||||
| Arkansas | 7,130 | 13.5 | 1992 | [25] | |||||
| Arkansas | 6,010 | 11.1 | 1995 | [25] | |||||
| Arkansas | 6,200 | 11.4 | 1996 | [25] | |||||
| Arkansas | 4,024 | 7.0 | 104 | 4,253 | 7.4 | 110 | 22.2 | 2014 | [26] |
| Arkansas | 3,805 | 6.6 | 98 | 3,771 | 6.5 | 97 | 18.6 | 2015 | [27] |
| Arkansas | 3,432 | 6.0 | 90 | 3,207 | 5.6 | 84 | 16.5 | 2016 | [28] |
| ^number of abortions per 1,000 women aged 15–44; ^^number of abortions per 1,000 live births | |||||||||
Abortion rights views and activities
editProtests
editWomen from the state participated in marches supporting abortion rights as part of a #StoptheBans movement in May 2019.[29]
Following the Roe v. Wade overturn draft leak on May 2, 2022, an abortion rights protest was held in Fayetteville, Arkansas.[30]
Following the overturn of Roe v. Wade on June 24, 2022, around 200 abortion rights protesters gathered outside the Arkansas State Capitol in Little Rock.[31]
In Little Rock, Arkansas on March 10, 2024, several hundred abortion rights protesters rallied at the state capitol building in support of the petition for an Arkansas abortion amendment to end the abortion ban in the state.[32]
On July 5, 2024, Arkansans For Limited Government announced that they submitted over 100,000 signatures from all 75 counties to the Secretary of State's office for a proposed abortion rights amendment to be placed on the ballot in the November 2024 election. The amendment would legalize abortion up to 18 weeks and protect abortion access after that point for cases of rape, incest, fatal fetal abnormalities and to protect the pregnant individual's life or health.[33] However, the ballot proposal lacked support from national abortion rights groups such as Planned Parenthood due to the fact that it still would have allowed abortions in the Arkansas to be banned after 20 weeks, which is earlier than other states where it remains legal.[34] On August 22, 2024, the Arkansas Supreme Court removed the measure from the November 2024 ballot in a 4-3 ruling, determining that the Arkansas Secretary of State's decision not to count signatures was legal due to Arkansans for Limited Government failing to comply with state law by failing to file the paid canvasser training certification.[34] The problem resulted from documentation regarding paid signature gatherers being submitted separately rather than in a single bundle.[34]
Anti-abortion views and activities
editIn June 2024, several canvassers for the Arkansas abortion rights amendment reported that they had been stalked, followed, threatened, harassed, doxxed and filmed by anti-abortion protesters.[35]
References
edit- ^ a b "SB149 Bill Information". www.arkleg.state.ar.us. Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 2024-08-27.
- ^ a b Blumenthal, Paul (2022-06-14). "These States Will Ban Abortion Now That Roe Is Overturned". HuffPost. Retrieved 2022-06-24.
- ^ "Document".
- ^ a b c Buell, Samuel (1991-01-01). "Criminal Abortion Revisited". New York University Law Review. 66 (6): 1774–1831. PMID 11652642.
- ^ a b c 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.
- ^ "State Policy On Informed Consent for Abortion" (PDF). Guttmacher Policy Review. Fall 2007. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
- ^ a b c "State Abortion Counseling Policies and the Fundamental Principles of Informed Consent". Guttmacher Institute. 2007-11-12. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
- ^ "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.
- ^ Parker, Suzi (January 31, 2013). "Arkansas Senate passes fetal heartbeat law to ban most abortions". Reuters. Retrieved September 5, 2013.
- ^ a b c "Abortion Restrictions in States". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
- ^ Bassett, Laura (March 6, 2013). "Arkansas 12-Week Abortion Ban Becomes Law". Huffington Post. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
- ^ "Ark. 'heartbeat' abortion law blocked - Washington Times". The Washington Times.
- ^ AP (March 15, 2014). "U.S. judge strikes Arkansas' 12-week abortion ban". USA Today. Retrieved September 20, 2014.
- ^ "Arkansas Human Heartbeat Protection Act (SB 134)". rewire.news. Retrieved February 10, 2019.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization". SCOTUSblog. Retrieved 2024-08-22.
- ^ 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) - ^ 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.
- ^ "Health Centers - Arkansas - Planned Parenthood".
- ^ 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.
- ^ "Guttmacher Data Center". data.guttmacher.org. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
- ^ "No. of abortions among women aged 15–19, by state of residence, 2013 by racial group". Guttmacher Data Center. Retrieved 2019-05-24.
- ^ "Views about abortion by state - Religion in America: U.S. Religious Data, Demographics and Statistics". Pew Research Center. Retrieved 2019-05-23.
- ^ "States pushing abortion bans have highest infant mortality rates". NBC News. 24 May 2019. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
- ^ a b c d 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ 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.
- ^ Jatlaoui, Tara C. (2019). "Abortion Surveillance — United States, 2016". MMWR. Surveillance Summaries. 68 (11): 1–41. doi:10.15585/mmwr.ss6811a1. ISSN 1546-0738. PMC 6289084. PMID 31774741.
- ^ Bacon, John. "Abortion rights supporters' voices thunder at #StopTheBans rallies across the nation". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2019-05-25.
- ^ Fielder, Lydia. "Arkansans protest for abortion rights in Fayetteville". 4029 News. Retrieved 2024-01-23.
- ^ Earley, Neal. "Around 200 Arkansans attend abortion-ruling protest at state Capitol". Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Retrieved 2024-01-23.
- ^ "Rally at the state Capitol shows support for abortion amendment". March 11, 2024. Retrieved July 13, 2024.
- ^ Edelman, Adam. "Arkansas abortion rights groups collect enough signatures to advance ballot measure". NBC News. Retrieved 2024-07-05.
- ^ a b c DeMillo, Andrew (August 22, 2024). "Arkansas Supreme Court upholds rejection of petitions to let voters decide on abortion access". Associated Press. Retrieved August 23, 2024.
- ^ Rodriguez, Barbara; Panetta, Grace. "'They want us to be scared': Anti-abortion activists target ballot measure organizers in Arkansas". The 19th. Retrieved 2024-07-13.