Arkansas Born-Alive Infant Protection Act (SB 148)

This law was last updated on Oct 23, 2017

State

Arkansas

Number

SB 148

Status

Current

Proposed

Jan 19, 2017

Topics

Fetal Homicide, Later Abortion

Full Bill Text

www.arkleg.state.ar.us

SB 148 would create the offense of “infanticide” for physicians who fail to provide medically appropriate and reasonable care and treatment to a infant who is born alive.

Born-Alive Infant Protection

The bill would prohibit any physician or other healthcare professional from denying or depriving an infant of nourishment with the intent to cause or allow the death of the infant for any reason, including without limitation:

The infant was born with a physical, intellectual, or developmental disability;
The infant was not wanted by the parent or guardian; or
The infant was born alive by natural or artificial means.

The bill would prohibit any physician or other healthcare professional from depriving an infant of medically appropriate and reasonable medical care and treatment or surgical care.

A physician performing an abortion would need to take all medically appropriate and reasonable steps to preserve the life and health of a infant who is born alive.

If an abortion performed in a hospital results in a live birth, the attending physician would be required to:

Provide immediate medical care to the infant;
Inform the mother of the live birth; and
Request transfer of the infant to an on-duty resident or emergency care physician who shall provide medically appropriate and reasonable medical care and treatment to the infant.

If an abortion performed in a healthcare facility other than a hospital results in a live birth, the attending physician would be required to:

Provide immediate medical care to the infant; and
Call 911 for an emergency transfer of the infant to the hospital for medically appropriate and reasonable care and treatment for the infant.

A physician, nurse, or other licensed healthcare professional would be committing infanticide if:

He or she knowingly fails to provide medically appropriate and reasonable care and treatment to a infant who is born alive; and
The infant who is born alive dies as a result such failure.

Infanticide would be a Class D felony.

The bill defines “infant who is born alive” to mean:

The complete expulsion or extraction of an infant from a mother, regardless of the state of gestational development, who shows any evidence of life, including without limitation: breathing; heartbeat; umbilical cord pulsation; or definite movement of voluntary muscles.

The bill defines “infant” to mean:

a child who has been completely expulsed or extracted from the mother, regardless of the stage of gestational development, until thirty (30) days after the birth.

If passed, the law would take effect on January 1, 2018.

Related Legislation

The bill is based on model legislation from Americans United for Life.

STATUS

Passed the senate on February 16, 2017 by a 34-0 vote.

Passed the house on February 27, 2017 by a 84-1 vote.

Approved by Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) on March 7, 2017.