HR 1011 Summary

• Authorizes introduction of the Arkansas Human Heartbeat and Human Life Civil Justice Act, which prohibits abortion except to save the pregnant woman's life in a medical emergency.

• Establishes civil liability allowing private citizens (excluding state officials and those involved in crimes of rape, incest, or sexual assault) to sue anyone who performs, induces, or aids and abets an abortion in violation of the law, including those paying for or reimbursing abortion costs.

• Awards statutory damages of at least $10,000 per abortion, plus injunctive relief, nominal and compensatory damages, and attorney's fees to prevailing plaintiffs, with a three-year statute of limitations.

• Prohibits state and local enforcement of the law, limiting enforcement exclusively to private civil actions, and provides sovereign and governmental immunity protections for the state and its officers.

• Declares an emergency, making the act effective immediately upon gubernatorial approval or expiration of the veto period, citing increased abortions in Arkansas and out-of-state residents seeking abortions as burdens on the healthcare system.