Committee advances bill banning race-based abortions if state abortion prohibitions are overturned

Senate Bill 591 cleared the Public Health, Welfare and Labor Committee after sponsor remarks and brief questioning.

Senator Penzo said SB 591 would prohibit abortions sought solely because of the unborn child's race. The bill creates a new subchapter modeled on other nondiscrimination abortion bans, such as prohibitions tied to fetal genetic anomalies. The sponsor told the committee that criminal and civil penalties would apply to physicians who knowingly perform a prohibited abortion; the bill explicitly protects women from prosecution or civil liability for receiving or attempting to receive such an abortion.

Multiple senators questioned the practical application of a race-based prohibition; the sponsor said the measure is a preventative statute designed to remain dormant unless other parts of Arkansas law change. The sponsor emphasized Section 2 is a trigger provision: the act would only take effect if existing state abortion statutes were altered or invalidated by later action. No public witnesses appeared for or against the measure. The committee recorded a motion to pass, seconded, and the bill was advanced.