GroundRules
Ark. Code Ann. § 20-16-705: Abortion of viable fetus prohibited - Exceptions
Where this section sits in the code
- AR Code
- Title 20
- Chapter 16
- Subchapter 7
(a) No abortion of a viable fetus shall be performed unless necessary to preserve the life or health of the woman. (b) Before a physician may perform an abortion upon a pregnant woman after such time as her fetus has become viable, the physician shall first certify in writing that the abortion is necessary to preserve the life or health of the woman and shall further certify in writing the medical indications for the abortion and the probable health consequences. (c) (1) This subchapter shall not prohibit the abortion of a viable fetus if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest perpetrated on a minor when documentation is presented that states that the crime has been reported to law enforcement. (2) The physician or abortion facility shall: (A) File the documentation that a crime has been reported to law enforcement in the pregnant woman's medical record; and (B) Report to the Department of Health the number of abortions performed because of rape or incest. Amended by Act 2021, No. 787,§ 3, eff. 7/28/2021. Acts 1985, No. 268, § 2; A.S.A. 1947, § 41-2563.
(a) No abortion of a viable fetus shall be performed unless necessary to preserve the life or health of the woman.
(b) Before a physician may perform an abortion upon a pregnant woman after such time as her fetus has become viable, the physician shall first certify in writing that the abortion is necessary to preserve the life or health of the woman and shall further certify in writing the medical indications for the abortion and the probable health consequences.
(c) (1) This subchapter shall not prohibit the abortion of a viable fetus if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest perpetrated on a minor when documentation is presented that states that the crime has been reported to law enforcement. (2) The physician or abortion facility shall: (A) File the documentation that a crime has been reported to law enforcement in the pregnant woman's medical record; and (B) Report to the Department of Health the number of abortions performed because of rape or incest.
(1) This subchapter shall not prohibit the abortion of a viable fetus if the pregnancy is the result of rape or incest perpetrated on a minor when documentation is presented that states that the crime has been reported to law enforcement.
(2) The physician or abortion facility shall: (A) File the documentation that a crime has been reported to law enforcement in the pregnant woman's medical record; and (B) Report to the Department of Health the number of abortions performed because of rape or incest.
(A) File the documentation that a crime has been reported to law enforcement in the pregnant woman's medical record; and
(B) Report to the Department of Health the number of abortions performed because of rape or incest.
Collected 2026-09-17T21:35:43Z. Source file · JSON
Compilation CC BY 4.0, Open US Law (Vaquill AI). GroundRules uses only the releases published under CC BY 4.0: from v2026.09 the compilation is licensed CC BY-NC 4.0, and GroundRules does not use those releases. Each affected row names its release in its vintage label. GroundRules parsed and filtered the compilation to retain enacted text. Source · License
Arkansas electronic product files were republished by Public.Resource.Org under a public-domain mark. GroundRules uses enacted text from Release 78 only as a labeled supplement to the newer Open US Law rows. Source