relative to child support obligations during postsecondary education.

2026 Regular Session Introduced by Wayne Burton

The bill would require any abortion-providing clinic or facility to be licensed and meet ambulatory surgery center standards.

Inexpedient to Legislate: MA VV 03/05/2026 HJ 6 P. 10

Overview

HB 1781, as provided in the document, is primarily an Arkansas bill that would add a new licensing requirement for any clinic, health center, or other facility in which a pregnancy is willfully terminated (including nonsurgical abortions). The bill conditions its operative effect on an Attorney General certification that Arkansas laws currently prohibiting most abortions have been enjoined, repealed, or amended to permit abortions beyond a life‑saving emergency. The document package submitted for summary contains inconsistent metadata (an unrelated appropriation title about Jackson County and text from an Illinois bill), which is noted below.

Key provisions

Amends Arkansas Code § 20-9-302 by adding subsection (j):

(j)(1) Requires that any clinic, health center, or other facility where a known‑pregnant woman’s pregnancy is willfully terminated or aborted (at any gestational age, including nonsurgical abortions) be licensed by the Department (presumably the Arkansas Department of Health) under that section.
(j)(2) Requires that any such licensed facility satisfy all licensure requirements applicable to an ambulatory surgery center (ASC).

Contingent effective date: Section 1 becomes effective only after the Arkansas Attorney General certifies either:

A court has enjoined the State from preventing persons from purposely performing or attempting abortions except to save the life of the pregnant woman under the Arkansas Human Life Protection Act (§ 5-61-301 et seq.) or the Arkansas Unborn Child Protection Act (§ 5-61-401 et seq.); or
One or both of those Acts have been repealed or amended to allow abortions other than to save the life of the pregnant woman.

Who would be affected

Clinics, health centers, or other facilities that perform abortions in Arkansas — surgical and nonsurgical — would be required to obtain a license and meet ASC licensure standards.

State health department (licensing and inspection responsibilities).

Patients and abortion providers: potential effects on availability, facility costs, and operational requirements.

Potential impacts

Compliance costs: facilities may face significant expense and time to meet ASC requirements (physical plant, staffing, equipment, infection control, emergency protocols).

Access implications: some facilities might close or stop providing abortion services if unable to meet ASC standards, potentially reducing geographic access.

Regulatory oversight: increases state regulatory oversight of abortion‑providing sites by applying ASC standards.

Procedural status and notable inconsistencies

Top-line status listed as “Died In Committee.” The legislative actions in the combined document are inconsistent (include both actions showing passage in one record and “Died in House Committee at Sine Die adjournment” on 2025‑05‑05). Other included text and actions appear to be from an unrelated Illinois HB1781 (minor technical amendment to the Southwest Regional Port District Act).

Sponsors listed: Representative Crawford and Senator D. Wallace (Arkansas), and Rep. Jay Hoffman (Illinois) — reflecting the mixed record.

Note: Because the provided file mixes multiple bills and jurisdictional records, readers should consult the official Arkansas General Assembly bill text and legislative history for the authoritative version and final status.

Bill