Impact Assessment for HB1174
Sponsored by Representative Womack
Subtitle TO ADD PROTECTIONS FOR UNBORN CHILDREN BY ALLOWING PROSECTUION WHEN A PERSON
CAUSES THE DEATH OF AN UNBORN CHILD; TO REPEAL PROVISIONS THAT MAY ALLOW A PERSON TO
PRESSURE A PREGNANT WOMAN TO GET AN ABORTION; TO DECLARE AN EMERGENCY.
Impact Summary1 Cannot be determined. Available data does not indicate the likely number of new convictions under
the proposed bill.
Change from Current Law2 Amends Arkansas Code Annotated § 5-1-102, Definitions. Current law includes “unborn
child” within the definition of “person” in various provisions of Title 5 relating to the death of a person and provides for
criminal liability beginning at conception. Under the proposed bill, A.C.A. § 5-1-102(13)(B) is amended to define “Unborn
child” as offspring of human beings from fertilization until birth. “Fertilization” means the fusion of a human
spermatozoon with a human ovum.
The proposed bill further amends A.C.A. § 5-1-102(13)(B) to remove existing exceptions to prosecution and adds specific
exceptions to prosecution for a lawful medical procedure. [New language indicated by italics. See bill for complete list of
exemptions.] The proposed bill also amends a provision in Title 16 concerning civil remedies related to the death of an
unborn child as defined in A.C.A. § 5-1-102.
Impact Information The proposed bill amends the definition of “unborn child” as included within the definition of
“person” and provides a new list of specific exemptions to prosecution in various provisions of Title 5. Available data on
the convictions and incarceration for various courses of conduct resulting in the death of a person does not discern if the
person is an unborn child. For this reason, the projected impact of the proposed bill on correctional resources cannot be
determined.
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1 This impact assessment was prepared 2/1/2023 1:36 PM by the staff of the Arkansas Sentencing Commission pursuant to A. C. A. § 16-90-
802(d)(6) with data supplied by the Department of Corrections and the Administrative Office of the Courts. A micro-simulation model may
be used for bills which have the potential for significant impact on correctional resources. The following designations will be used:
“minimal” = less than 10 offenders per year will be affected; “medium” = would require budgetary increases for ADC costs; and “major” =
would require budgetary increases for ADC costs and construction costs for additional beds.
2
Standard punishment ranges: Misdemeanors
Class Y 10-40 years or life Class C 3-10 years; up to $10,000 Class A Up to 1 year; up to $2,500
Class A 6-30 years; up to $15,000 Class D 0-6 years; up to $10,000 Class B Up to 90 days; up to $1,000
Class B 5-20 years; up to $15,000 Unclassified As specified in statute Class C Up to 30 days; up to $500


Statutes affected:
Old version HB1174 Original - 1-19-2023 11:55 AM: 5-1-102(13), 16-62-102(a)
Old version HB1174 V2 - 3-13-2023 09:32 AM: 5-1-102(13), 16-62-102(a)
HB 1174: 5-1-102(13), 16-62-102(a)