2015 Arkansas Code
Title 20 - Public Health And Welfare
Subtitle 2 - Health And Safety
Chapter 16 - Reproductive Health
Subchapter 15 - Abortion-Inducing Drugs Safety Act [Effective January 1, 2016]
§ 20-16-1503 - Definitions. [Effective January 1, 2016.]

As used in this subchapter:

(1) (A) "Abortion" means the act of using or prescribing any instrument, medicine, drug, or any other substance, device, or means with the intent to terminate the clinically diagnosable pregnancy of a woman, with knowledge that the termination by those means will with reasonable likelihood cause the death of the unborn child.

(B) An act under subdivision (1)(A) of this section is not an abortion if the act is performed with the intent to:

(i) Save the life or preserve the health of the unborn child;

(ii) Remove a dead unborn child caused by spontaneous abortion;

(iii) Remove an ectopic pregnancy; or

(iv) Treat a maternal disease or illness for which the prescribed drug is indicated;

(2) (A) "Abortion-inducing drug" means a medicine, drug, or any other substance prescribed or dispensed with the intent of terminating the clinically diagnosable pregnancy of a woman, with knowledge that the termination will with reasonable likelihood cause the death of the unborn child.

(B) "Abortion-inducing drugs" includes off-label use of drugs known to have abortion-inducing properties, which are prescribed specifically with the intent of causing an abortion, such as misoprostol, Cytotec, and methotrexate.

(C) This definition does not apply to drugs that may be known to cause an abortion, but which are prescribed for other medical indications such as chemotherapeutic agents or diagnostic drugs.

(D) Use of drugs to induce abortion is also known as a medical, drug-induced, or chemical abortion;

(3) "Adverse event" means an undesirable experience associated with the use of a medical product in a patient, including without limitation an event that causes:

(A) Death;

(B) Threat to life;

(C) Hospitalization;

(D) Disability or permanent damage;

(E) Congenital anomaly or birth defect, or both;

(F) Required intervention to prevent permanent impairment or damage; or

(G) Other serious important medical events, including without limitation:

(i) Allergic bronchospasm requiring treatment in an emergency room;

(ii) Serious blood dyscrasias;

(iii) Seizures or convulsions that do not result in hospitalization; and

(iv) The development of drug dependence or drug abuse;

(4) "Final printed labeling" means the United States Food and Drug Administration-approved informational document for an abortion-inducing drug that outlines the protocol authorized by the United States Food and Drug Administration and agreed upon by the drug company applying for United States Food and Drug Administration authorization of that drug;

(5) "Gestational age" means the time that has elapsed since the first day of the woman's last menstrual period;

(6) "Mifeprex regimen" means the abortion-inducing drug regimen that involves administration of mifepristone or the brand name "Mifeprex" and misoprostol, which is the only abortion-inducing drug regimen approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration and is also known as the RU-486 regimen or simply RU-486;

(7) "Mifepristone" means the first drug used in the Mifeprex regimen;

(8) "Misoprostol" means the second drug used in the Mifeprex regimen;

(9) "Physician" means any person licensed to practice medicine in this state, including medical doctors and doctors of osteopathy; and

(10) "Unborn child" means the offspring of human beings from conception until birth.