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Arkansas · Snapshot open-us-law v2026.08, retrieved 2026-09-17

Ark. Code Ann. § 5-61-404: Prohibition

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Where this section sits in the code
  1. AR Code
  2. Title 5
  3. Chapter 61
  4. Subchapter 4

(a) A person shall not purposely perform or attempt to perform an abortion except to save the life of a pregnant woman in a medical emergency. (b) Performing or attempting to perform an abortion is an unclassified felony with a fine not to exceed one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) or imprisonment not to exceed ten (10) years, or both. (c) This section does not: (1) Authorize the charging or conviction of a woman with any criminal offense in the death of her own unborn child; or (2) Prohibit the sale, use, prescription, or administration of a contraceptive measure, drug, or chemical if the contraceptive measure, drug, or chemical is administered before the time when a pregnancy could be determined through conventional medical testing and if the contraceptive measure, drug, or chemical is sold, used, prescribed, or administered in accordance with manufacturer instructions. (d) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section if a licensed physician provides medical treatment to a pregnant woman which results in the accidental or unintentional physical injury or death to the unborn child. Added by Act 2021, No. 309,§ 1, eff. 7/28/2021.

(a) A person shall not purposely perform or attempt to perform an abortion except to save the life of a pregnant woman in a medical emergency.

(b) Performing or attempting to perform an abortion is an unclassified felony with a fine not to exceed one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) or imprisonment not to exceed ten (10) years, or both.

(c) This section does not: (1) Authorize the charging or conviction of a woman with any criminal offense in the death of her own unborn child; or (2) Prohibit the sale, use, prescription, or administration of a contraceptive measure, drug, or chemical if the contraceptive measure, drug, or chemical is administered before the time when a pregnancy could be determined through conventional medical testing and if the contraceptive measure, drug, or chemical is sold, used, prescribed, or administered in accordance with manufacturer instructions.

(1) Authorize the charging or conviction of a woman with any criminal offense in the death of her own unborn child; or

(2) Prohibit the sale, use, prescription, or administration of a contraceptive measure, drug, or chemical if the contraceptive measure, drug, or chemical is administered before the time when a pregnancy could be determined through conventional medical testing and if the contraceptive measure, drug, or chemical is sold, used, prescribed, or administered in accordance with manufacturer instructions.

(d) It is an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section if a licensed physician provides medical treatment to a pregnant woman which results in the accidental or unintentional physical injury or death to the unborn child.

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

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