The document analyzes the Human Heartbeat Protection Act passed in Arkansas. The act bans abortions after 12 weeks if a fetal heartbeat is detected, with exceptions for health risks. This violates Roe v. Wade and could result in doctors losing their medical licenses for performing illegal abortions. The main problem is that the law was passed primarily by male lawmakers who do not understand the implications of pregnancy and childbirth for women.

1. The Human Heartbeat Protection Act Policy Analysis
By: Arecka Collins
Empirical Political Theory
April 29, 2014
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2. Table Of Contents
Executive Summary………………………3
Hypothesis………………………………..5
Statement of The Problem…………………6
Literature Review………………………….8
Methodology……………………………..12
Recommendation……………………….13
Conclusion……………………………14
Reference…………………………… 15
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3. Executive Summary
Purpose:
The Human Heartbeat Protection Act is an abortion bill geared towards unhindering the
life of an unborn child through abortion as early as twelve weeks into the pregnancy. The bill passed on
the floor with 26 votes from the Arkansas Senate. When a heartbeat is detected in an unborn baby,
there’s life. The bill is heavily enforced to continue the funding of Planned Parenthood for abortions for
women who are at risk, their child is at risk, or the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest. For over 200
years, it was deemed unconstitutional to take the life of an unborn child. In 1973, nine Supreme Court
Justices ruled in favor of abortion in the historical landmark Roe v. Wade Supreme Court Case. The
court ruled that the abortion law in the state Texas was an unconstitutional invasion of privacy. Since
then, 53 million babies have been killed due to abortions. Partial birth abortions were banned for being
unconstitutional in Gonzales v. Carhart and Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood, after passing into law in
2003. Partial birth is the political term for the actual name of the method. The term first came about by
the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) in 1995 to describe a recently introduced medical
procedure to remove fetuses from the womb. Partial birth is alternately known as "dilation and
extraction," or D&X, and "intact D&E," which involves removing the fetus intact by dilating a pregnant
woman's cervix, then pulling the entire body out through the birth canal. If a pregnant woman in
Arkansas is ran over or involved in an accident and the child dies in the womb, the other person will get
charged with homicide if the baby in the womb is as early as twelve weeks. Senator Rapert’s argument
for the Human Heartbeat Protection Act is if someone else can be put in prison for killing an unborn
then why not the mother, who knows what she is doing?
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4. Human Heartbeat Protection Act:
The Human Heartbeat Protection Act is a bill that stops expectant mothers from
undergoing abortion procedures if a physician detects a heartbeat as early as the first twelve weeks,
unless the mother is a victim of rape, incest, or a medical emergency in regards to the mother or the
child. “Contraceptive” means a device, drug, or chemical that prevents fertilization. “Fetus” means the
human offspring developing during pregnancy from the moment of fertilization and includes the
embryonic stage of development. “Heartbeat” means cardiac activity, the steady and repetitive rhythmic
contraction of the fetal heart within the gestational sac. “Human individual” means an individual
organism of the species Homo sapiens. “Major bodily function” includes without limitation, functions of
the immune system, normal cell growth, and digestive, bowel, bladder, neurological, brain, respiratory,
circulatory, endocrine, and reproductive functions. “Medical emergency” means a condition in which
an abortion is necessary: To preserve the life of the pregnant woman whose life is endangered by a
physical disorder, physical illness, or physical injury, including a life­endangering physical condition
caused by or arising from the pregnancy itself, or when continuation of the pregnancy will create a
serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function of the pregnant woman;
or due to the existence of a highly lethal fetal disorder as defined by the Arkansas State Medical Board.
“Pregnancy” means the human female reproductive condition that begins with fertilization when the
female is carrying the developing human offspring and is calculated from the first day of the last
menstrual period of the human female. “Viability” means a medical condition that begins with a
detectable fetal heartbeat.
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5. Hypothesis
The study will examine how women in need of abortion care during their first trimester of
pregnancy will be denied their constitutional right and how doctors risk losing their license if they
perform a "forbidden abortion" due to the strict guidelines of the Human Heartbeat Protection Act in
Arkansas. This study will show, in detail, the short term and long term effects, and the health risks that
coincide with choosing to have an abortion. Lastly, this study will show the risks of doctors losing their
medical license and what it would mean for the doctors' families, their patients and the hospital where
they worked.
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6.
Statement Of The Problem
The Human Heartbeat Protection Act is a law that was passed in Arkansas banning
abortions in the first trimester of a pregnancy unless there is a health risk to the mother or the fetus.
Doctors are instructed in the law to administer an ultrasound detecting a fetal heartbeat at the 12 week
period to all women deciding to have an abortion. If a fetal heartbeat is not detected, the doctor has
permission under the law to carry out an abortion. Also, the law states that women must sign a waiver
stating that they have received an ultrasound and know the implications of having an abortion. Although
this law sounds straightforward, it does have some provisions to make. This law violates the 1973 Roe
vs. Wade Supreme Court ruling which protects women's constitutional right to have an abortion until the
fetus is viable outside of the womb, which is at 24 weeks. Lawmakers argue that at 12 weeks, the fetus
sustains a heartbeat and can feel pain, but a fetus is not fully developed in the first trimester and is not
able to live outside of the womb. Any doctor who is caught performing an illegal abortion will have their
medical license revoked. The law does not state how long the doctors' medical license is to be revoked
or if the license can even be renewed. The pro­choice movement says that if a pregnancy is unwanted
then the woman should terminate it so that she can move on with her life. The pro­life movement states
that an abortion kills a human baby and can harm the woman which means she should not have an
abortion. The American Nurses Association proclaims that "patients have the moral and legal right to
determine what will be done with their own person; to be accurate, complete and understandable
information in a manner that facilitates an informed judgement." There are health risks that occur after
an abortion is performed but there are also complications that occur naturally during a pregnancy
everyday that only show up when a woman is pregnant. Simply meaning, that health risks during a
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7. pregnancy may not show up until labor. Currently, on the floor, Ohio is petitioning to pass a similar bill
and eight other states( Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana, Indiana, Illinois, and North
Carolina) have, in effect, fetal pain laws allowing abortions for up to 20 weeks during a pregnancy.
Similar abortion laws have been blocked in Arizona, Georgia and Idaho around the time that this law
was passed in Arkansas. The main problem with this law is that majority of the lawmakers who passed
this bill are men. They don't understand the implications and the complications that are endured when a
woman goes through a pregnancy. The lawmakers purpose was to protect these unborn fetuses and
allow them to live. Where would Arkansas, as a state be, financially if abortions weren't allowed?
Would we, as a country, be able to compensate for every fetus that has been aborted, if they were living
today? Would pregnancy rates be even lower? Would women (really) think twice before fornicating and
even buying contraceptives for fear of having to raise a child with no other option?
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8. Literature Review
Abortion in Arkansas:
By the age of forty­five, about one in three American women will have had an abortion. In
Arkansas, 51,300 of the 571,449 women of reproductive age became pregnant in 2011. Seventy­six
percent of these pregnancies resulted in live births and nine percent in induced abortions. In 2011, 1.1
million American women obtained abortions, producing a rate of 16.9 abortions per 1,000 women of
reproductive age. The rate is a decrease from 2008, when the abortion rate was 19.4 abortions per
1,000 women 15­44 years of age. In 2011, 4,370 women obtained abortions in Arkansas, producing
a rate of 7.6 abortions per 1,000 women of reproductive age. The rate decreased 11% since 2008,
when it was 8.6 abortions per 1,000 women 15­44 years of age. Abortions in Arkansas represent
0.4% of all abortions in the United States. In 2011, there were 5 abortion providers in Arkansas; 3 of
those which were clinics. This represents a seventeen percent decline in overall providers and a twenty
five percent decline in clinics from 2008, when there were 6 abortion providers overall, of which 4 were
abortion clinics. In 2011, ninety seven percent of Arkansas’ counties had no abortion clinic. Seventy
eight percent of Arkansas women lived in these counties.
Restrictions on Abortion:
In Arkansas, the following restrictions on abortion were in effect as of April 1, 2014:
1. A woman must receive state­directed counseling that includes information designed to discourage
her from having an abortion and then wait until the next day before the procedure is provided.
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9. 2. Health plans that will be offered in the state’s health exchange under the Affordable Care Act can
only cover abortion when the woman's life is endangered, rape or incest, unless an optional rider
is purchased at an additional cost.
3. The parent of a minor must consent before an abortion is provided.
4. Public funding is available for abortion only in cases of life endangerment, rape or incest.
5. An abortion may be performed at or after 20 weeks postfertilization (22 weeks after the
woman’s last menstrual period) only if the woman’s life is endangered, rape, incest or if
her physical health is severely compromised, based on the spurious assertion that a fetus can feel
pain at that point.
Short-term Side Effects
Short term effects occur in the two most common abortion methods more than the other methods.
Surgical Method Vacuum Aspiration. In this procedure, the cervix is stretched with dilators. After
being stretched, the doctor inserts a tube by hand into the uterus. A syringe is attached to the tube
which pulls out the fetus and suctions it into a collection container. The complications for this procedure
include: excessive bleeding, abdominal swelling, pelvic infection, uterine perforation, cervical tears,
incomplete abortions, and even, death.
Medical Treatment. This method of abortion involves taking Mifepristone, followed by Misoprostol.
The complications involved with this procedure include: frequent uterine pain, excessive uterine bleeding,
pelvic infection, ruptured ectopic pregnancy, incomplete pregnancy, vomiting diarrhea, and death.
Long-term Side Effects
Long term side effects can occur with and without short term effects and, sometimes, not at all.
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10. Substance Abuse. Women who have had an abortion are more than twice as likely to abuse drugs.
Drugs are used to feel better and just to function, after experiencing an abortion.
Cancer. Abortion experienced women have an increased risk of getting breast cancer. The termination
of a pregnancy causes a drop in the level of estrogen secreted in a woman’s body. According to the
National Cancer Institute, women who have had an induced abortion have a 50 percent risk of getting
breast cancer by the age of 45. The risk is higher for women who have had an induced abortion by the
age of 18.
Infertility. Secondary infertility can occur, where the woman will no longer be able to conceive.
Abortions can directly and indirectly affect infertility. Abortions can directly affect fertility by scaring the
uterine from a surgical abortion. Abortions can indirectly affect fertility through the risk of infection of
the fallopian tubes, which is called Salpingitis. Salpingitis increases the risk of future pregnancies
becoming tubal pregnancies.
Post-abortion Syndrome. Post abortion syndrome is a type of post traumatic stress disorder. Common
side effects include: self­harm, suicide, increase in dangerous activities, depression, difficulty sleeping,
eating disorders, panic disorders, codependency, abusive parenting, overly protective parenting, and
compulsivity in work or sex. A symptom of post abortion syndrome is a woman’s desire to become
pregnant again to feel the void of once being pregnant.
Sexual Dysfunction. Studies show that twenty four percent of American women reported problems
with sexual dysfunction due to a past abortion. A Swiss study concluded that thirty one percent of
women have had an abortion in the last six months will have at least one sexual dysfunction. The
variables conducted in the Swiss study included: sexual frequency, desire, orgasm ability, and
satisfaction.
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11. Update:
On friday March 14, 2014, was declared unconstitutional by an Arkansas federal judge.
U.S. District Judge, Susan Webber Wright concluded that the law “impermissibly infringes a woman’s
Fourteenth Amendment right to elect to terminate a pregnancy before viability” of the fetus, as
established by the U.S. Supreme Court. Webber’s decision let stand the law’s requirement that a
woman seeking an abortion first undergo an ultrasound to determine whether a fetal heartbeat is present.
Rita Sklar, president of the Arkansas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union declares, “This ban
would have inserted politicians into the deeply personal medical decisions of Arkansas women. The
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of Arkansas, and the Center for Reproductive
Rights (CRR) filed a lawsuit against the bill in April of 2013. The bill was temporarily blocked in May
by U.S. District Judge Susan Webber Wright, after the suit was filed. “While we are pleased that the
court ultimately preserved women’s fundamental right to abortion, Arkansas women are fully capable of
weighing their reproductive choices carefully and responsibly in consultation with their doctors—without
politicians dictating what medical procedures or information they need,” said Nancy Northup, president
and CEO of the Center for Reproductive Rights, in a statement.
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12. Methodology
A descriptive research methodology was used for this policy analysis. No surveys
were able to be administered during the analysis of this bill. All research used in the analysis are from the
state of Arkansas in which the bill was enacted. Not enough information was retrieved for the second
half of the bill which talks about the revocation of a physician’s license if they were to perform the
unlawful abortion. The data used in this policy analysis dates between 2008 and 2011.
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13. Recommendations
Even though the abortion banning procedures of the law were annexed, all women considering
getting an abortion should not only consult a doctor but do some research of their own. This study
definitely shows the great risks that women will have for the rest of their lives if they decide to undergo
getting an abortion. Some women can come out unscathed from having an abortion, while most others
will have their life turned upside down. Constitutionally, every woman has the right to choose what she
wants to do and no politician nor any bill can alter that. I believe that there are several measures that
should be taken before a woman chooses to successfully abort a child.
Video Presentations. A video presentation should be viewed by the woman about the possible effects
that occur after having an abortion. The videos would show why abortions are not healthy nor safe for
the woman choosing to have one.
Counseling. Talking to a support group, psychologist, doctor, or even a pastor will help guide women
who are deciding to have an abortion. The real reasons for wanting an abortion should come out in
hopes of helping the woman find herself and help her make the best decision possible.
Adoption. These measures would resort in motivating the woman to continue with her pregnancy and
giving the child that she may not be able to take care of up for adoption. In some states, there are
places where you can take your child and you will not be charged for it.
Consent Forms. Consent forms are a reminder of what you are succumbing to do. It’s something that
you will have proof of. I think consent forms should be more strenuous for teens getting an abortion
because it will break them from repeating occurrences.
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14. Conclusion
In conclusion, I think it was a smart decision to block the Human Heartbeat Protection Act
because the law was taking one of women’s rights away. If the law were to currently be passed, then
this would open the door for more laws to be passed that would take away from the privacy that we, as
Americans, have behind closed doors. In the politicians defense, they were advocating for the rights of
all unborn children that are knowingly killed annually, but what about the mothers’ that are going through
this hectic procedure. Some would argue why get pregnant if you can’t take care of the child, but is
there a right time or time period to get pregnant? Some would answer yes. Others would say no.
Babies are a blessing to this God­given world and every mother and expecting mother would only want
the best for their child, even if that means giving the child up, whether it’s in the form of an adoption or
an abortion.
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15. References
Arkansas Senate Bill 134. 2013. AR SB 134|2013|89th General Assembly|Draft.
http://legiscan.com/AR/text/SB134/id/734571
Barnes, Steve. March 16, 2014. Judge strikes down Arkansas ‘heartbeat’ law.
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/national_world/2014/03/16/judge­strikes­down­arkansas­hear
tbeat­law.html The Columbus Dispatch. The Dispatch Printing Company.
Guttmacher Institute. 2014. State Facts About Abortion: Arkansas.
http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/sfaa/arkansas.html
Pieklo, Jessica Mason. March 17, 2014. Federal Court Strikes Arkansas 12­Week Abortion Ban.
http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2014/03/17/federal­court­strikes­arkansas­12­week­abortion­ban/ RH
Reality Check.
Roe v. Wade. 1973. Roe v. Wade­Casebriefs.
http://www.casebriefs.com/blog/law/family­law/family­law­keyed­to­weisberg/private­family­choices­c
onstitutional­protection­for­the­family­and­its­members/roe­v­wade/2/
Rovner, Julie. February, 21, 2006. Partial­Birth Abortion:' Separating Fact from Spin.
http://www.npr.org/2006/02/21/5168163/partial­birth­abortion­separating­fact­from­spin
Senator Rapert on Human Heartbeat Protection Act. 2013. Sen. Rapert on Abortion bill and
Controversial statements by Raven Ambers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxrRo49GSaw
(accessed April 2, 2014)
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