Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
Act 90 of the Regular Session
1 State of Arkansas As Engrossed: H1/26/21 H1/27/21
2 93rd General Assembly A Bill
3 Regular Session, 2021 HOUSE BILL 1195
4
5 By: Representatives Dotson, Vaught, Breaux, Rye, Haak, M. Berry, Ladyman, Milligan, Cloud, Coleman,
6 Lundstrum, McCollum, Hawks, Bentley, Payton, Miller, Richmond
7 By: Senator B. Ballinger
8
9 For An Act To Be Entitled
10 AN ACT TO CREATE THE EVERY MOM MATTERS ACT; TO
11 PROVIDE HEALTHCARE SUPPORT TO PREGNANT WOMEN IN
12 ARKANSAS; TO STABILIZE FAMILIES AND REDUCE THE NUMBER
13 OF ABORTIONS PERFORMED IN THE STATE; AND FOR OTHER
14 PURPOSES.
15
16
17 Subtitle
18 TO CREATE THE EVERY MOM MATTERS ACT; TO
19 PROVIDE HEALTHCARE SUPPORT TO PREGNANT
20 WOMEN IN ARKANSAS; AND TO STABILIZE
21 FAMILIES AND REDUCE THE NUMBER OF
22 ABORTIONS PERFORMED IN THE STATE.
23
24
25 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS:
26
27 SECTION 1. Arkansas Code 20-8-1001(a), concerning the Life Choices
28 Lifeline Program, is amended to read as follows:
29 (a) The Department of Health may implement the Life Choices Lifeline
30 Program as a statewide care program to provide direct services, support,
31 social services case management, and referrals to biological parents of
32 unborn children and biological or adoptive parents of children under two (2)
33 years of age individuals listed in subsection (f) of this section.
34
35 SECTION 2. Arkansas Code 20-8-1001(d)-(f), concerning the Life
36 Choices Lifeline Program, are amended to read as follows:
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1 (d) The Life Choices Lifeline Program shall consist of at least the
2 following components:
3 (1) Direct-to-participant marketing within the state;
4 (2) The use of licensed nurses, community health workers, or
5 other individuals of equivalent experience to provide offer healthy pregnancy
6 program services to participants in the Life Choices Lifeline Program,
7 including:
8 (A) An assessment and evaluation of needs related to
9 pregnancy or parenting; and
10 (B) Medically accurate pregnancy-related medical
11 information; and
12 (C) Assistance obtaining obstetric care, primary care,
13 mental health or behavioral health counseling, or postpartum care;
14 (3) The use of licensed social workers, nurses, community health
15 workers, licensed professional counselors, or other individuals of equivalent
16 experience, to provide offer care plan coordination services to participants
17 in the Life Choices Lifeline Program, including:
18 (A) Development of a care plan of resources and support to
19 address the needs identified;
20 (B) Referrals to appropriate local resources, including
21 state and federal benefits programs and local charitable organizations;
22 (C) Assistance in applying for state and federal benefits
23 programs; and
24 (D) Assistance in accomplishing elements of the care plan;
25 and
26 (E) Services related to postpartum depression and related
27 referrals;
28 (F) Assistance obtaining pediatric care and postpartum
29 care; and
30 (G) Assistance obtaining substance abuse treatment and
31 alcohol abuse treatment; and
32 (4) Administrative support and expenses directly attributable to
33 the development of or ongoing support of healthy pregnancy program services
34 and care plan coordination services of the Life Choices Lifeline Program.
35 (e)(1) The Life Choices Lifeline Program shall be available to
36 residents of all counties of the state, including residents in rural areas
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1 that may currently lack access to healthy pregnancy program services and care
2 plan coordination services.
3 (2) Services Healthy pregnancy program services and care plan
4 coordination services of the Life Choices Lifeline Program may be provided,
5 as appropriate, in person through existing facilities or remotely through a
6 telephonic system or other comparable technological system.
7 (3) An individual who offers Life Choices Lifeline Program
8 services shall not refer a woman to an abortion provider, recommend abortion,
9 or take any other action that directly or indirectly advises a woman to
10 obtain or assists a woman in obtaining an abortion.
11 (f) To be eligible to receive services under the Life Choices Lifeline
12 Program, an individual shall at the time of initial contact with the Life
13 Choices Lifeline Program be:
14 (1) A resident of the state; and
15 (2)(1) A resident of this state who is the biological parent of
16 an unborn child or a biological or adoptive parent of a child under two (2)
17 years of age;
18 (2) A pregnant woman seeking to obtain an abortion in this
19 state; or
20 (3) A parent or legal guardian of a pregnant minor residing in
21 this state.
22
23 SECTION 3. Arkansas Code Title 20, Chapter 16, is amended to add an
24 additional subchapter to read as follows:
25
26 Subchapter 24 Every Mom Matters Act
27
28 20-16-2401. Title.
29 This subchapter shall be known and may be cited as the Every Mom
30 Matters Act.
31
32 20-16-2402. Definitions.
33 As used in this subchapter:
34 (1)(A) Abortion means the act of using or prescribing any
35 instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance, device, or means with the
36 intent to terminate the clinically diagnosable pregnancy of a woman, with
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1 knowledge that the termination by any of those means will with reasonable
2 likelihood cause the death of the unborn child.
3 (B) An act under subdivision (1)(A) of this section is not
4 an abortion if the act is performed with the intent to:
5 (i) Save the life or preserve the health of the
6 unborn child;
7 (ii) Remove a dead unborn child caused by
8 spontaneous abortion; or
9 (iii) Remove an ectopic pregnancy;
10 (2) "Abuse" means the same as defined in 12-18-103;
11 (3) "Agency" means an entity that contracts with the Department
12 of Health to provide the services required under 20-8-1001 or the resource
13 access assistance offer;
14 (4) "Assault" means the act or offense described in 5-13-204
15 5-13-207;
16 (5) "Care agent" means a person employed by an agency to perform
17 the services required by this subchapter;
18 (6) "Human trafficking" means the act or offense described in
19 the Human Trafficking Act of 2013, 5-18-101 et seq.;
20 (7) Medical emergency means a condition that, based on the
21 good faith clinical judgment of the physician, has complicated the medical
22 condition of the pregnant woman so as to necessitate the immediate
23 termination of the pregnancy to avert the woman's death or for which a delay
24 will create a serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a
25 major bodily function;
26 (8) "Neglect" means the same as defined in 12-18-103; and
27 (9) "Sexual assault" means an act or offense described in 5-
28 14-101 et seq.
29
30 20-16-2403. Resource access assistance offer.
31 (a) A person shall not perform an abortion unless the person verifies
32 that the woman on whom the abortion is to be performed has received a
33 resource access assistance offer.
34 (b) A resource access assistance offer under subsection (a) of this
35 section shall consist of a care agent:
36 (1) Informing the pregnant woman of the availability of free:
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1 (A) Healthy pregnancy program services offered under
2 20-8-1001(d)(2); and
3 (B) Care plan coordination services offered under 20-8-
4 1001(d)(3);
5 (2) Providing education on other public and private resources
6 available to address the socioeconomic needs of the pregnant woman or the
7 biological father of the unborn child;
8 (3) Offering screening and assistance for abuse, assault, sexual
9 assault, neglect, coercion, and human trafficking; and
10 (4) Offering medically accurate information using the
11 informational materials described in the Woman's Right-to-Know Act, 20-16-
12 1701 et seq.
13 (c) The pregnant woman is not required to:
14 (1) Initiate any offered services in order to obtain an
15 abortion; or
16 (2) Provide any information to the care agent except her unique
17 identifying number as described in 20-16-2407.
18 (d) The resource access assistance offer shall be provided by the
19 state at no cost to the woman.
20 (e) A care agent who provides a resource access assistance offer under
21 this section shall not refer a woman to an abortion provider, recommend
22 abortion, or take any other action that directly or indirectly advises a
23 woman to obtain or assists a woman in obtaining an abortion.
24
25 20-16-2404. Applicability.
26 (a) For healthy pregnancy program services and care plan coordination
27 services offered under 20-8-1001(d)(2) and (3):
28 (1) A pregnant women is not required to initiate or complete
29 healthy pregnancy program services or care plan coordination services in
30 order to obtain an abortion;
31 (2) A pregnant women who initiates healthy pregnancy program
32 services or care plan coordination services may decline or discontinue the
33 healthy pregnancy program services or care plan coordination services at any
34 time; and
35 (3) An agency shall prioritize care plan coordination services
36 and healthy pregnancy program services for women who have received a resource
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1 access assistance offer.
2 (b)(1) This subchapter does not apply in the case of a medical
3 emergency.
4 (2) A person who performs an abortion in a medical emergency
5 shall:
6 (A) Include in the pregnant woman's medical records a
7 statement signed by the physician of the pregnant woman certifying the nature
8 of the medical emergency; and
9 (B) Not later than thirty (30) days after the date that
10 the abortion is performed, certify to the Department of Health the specific
11 medical condition that constituted the medical emergency.
12
13 20-16-2405. Agencies.
14 (a) The Department of Health shall:
15 (1) Contract with a number of agencies sufficient to ensure that
16 each pregnant woman seeking an abortion in Arkansas receives a resource
17 access assistance offer and has the opportunity to receive care plan
18 coordination services and healthy pregnancy program services;
19 (2) Annually, designate the proportion of resource access
20 assistance offers to be provided by each agency's share of participants in
21 care plan coordination services or healthy pregnancy program services; and
22 (3) Contract only with agencies that are capable of offering all
23 of the services required under 20-8-1001 or the resource access assistance
24 offer.
25 (b) An agency shall be able, at a minimum, to provide resource access
26 assistance offers, care plan coordination services, and healthy pregnancy
27 program services by telephonic means using a toll-free number established by
28 the department.
29 (c) Each agency and any subcontractor or care agent of the agency
30 providing services related to 20-8-1001 or resource access assistance
31 offers shall not:
32 (1) Be an abortion provider or entity that directly or
33 indirectly assists women in obtaining an abortion;
34 (2) Own, operate, or be affiliated with an abortion provider or
35 an entity that directly or indirectly promotes abortions or assists women in
36 obtaining an abortion;
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1 (3) Employ a person who has performed an abortion in the last
2 two (2) years;
3 (4) Have as a director, board member, officer, volunteer, or
4 employee a person who serves in any of these roles for an entity described in
5 subdivisions (c)(1)-(3) of this section; or
6 (5) Refer women to an abortion provider, recommend abortion, or
7 take any other action that directly or indirectly advises or assists a woman
8 in obtaining an abortion.
9
10 20-16-2406. Care agents.
11 A care agent or other person providing healthy pregnancy program
12 services or care plan coordination services through a subcontract with an
13 agency or as a volunteer with an agency shall:
14 (1) Meet the qualifications established by rule of the
15 Department of Health;
16 (2) Have not performed an abortion in the last two (2) years;
17 (3) Have not served as a director, board member, officer,
18 volunteer, or employee for an entity described in 20-16-2405(c)(1)-(3) in
19 the last two (2) years;
20 (4) Agree to maintain the confidentiality of information the
21 care agent or other person obtains while performing services under 20-8-
22 1001 or the resource access assistance offer;
23 (5) Complete a training program using a standardized curriculum
24 regarding recognizing signs that a person may have been a victim of human
25 trafficking and providing appropriate assistance to a person who may have
26 been a victim of human trafficking; and
27 (6) Not refer women to an abortion provider, recommend abortion,
28 or take any other action that directly or indirectly advises a woman to
29 obtain or assists a woman in obtaining an abortion.
30
31 20-16-2407. Administration.
32 (a) The Department of Health shall:
33 (1)(A) Before implementation of the services under 20-8-1001
34 or the resource access assistance offer, create a program-specific website
35 that describes the services offered by 20-8-1001 and the resource access
36 assistance offer.
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1 (B) The department may also create materials using other
2 media, including print and electronic media, to convey information about the
3 services under 20-8-1001 and the resource access assistance offer to the
4 public;
5 (2)(A) Establish a single toll-free number for pregnant women
6 seeking an abortion in Arkansas to call in order to receive a resource access
7 assistance offer.
8 (B) The toll-free number shall automatically connect the
9 pregnant woman to an agency based on the proportion determined under 20-16-
10 2405(a)(2);
11 (3)(A) Develop and maintain a secure database.
12 (B) The secure database shall:
13 (i) Generate a unique identifying number;
14 (ii) Be accessible only to a person who is to
15 perform an abortion or an agent of the person performing an abortion,
16 agencies, and the department; and
17 (iii) Not transmit any information to:
18 (a) The agency or care agent concerning the
19 identity or location of the person who performs the abortion or the facility
20 at which the abortion is performed; or
21 (b) The person providing the abortion or the
22 agent