Stricken language would be deleted from and underlined language would be added to present law.
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State of Arkansas 1
95th General Assembly A Bill 2
Regular Session, 2025 SENATE BILL 444 3
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By: Senator K. Hammer 5
By: Representative L. Johnson 6
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For An Act To Be Entitled 8
AN ACT TO AMEND THE MEDICAL ETHICS AND DIVERSITY ACT; 9
AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES. 10
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Subtitle 13
TO AMEND THE MEDICAL ETHICS AND 14
DIVERSITY ACT. 15
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ARKANSAS: 17
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SECTION 1. Arkansas Code § 17 -80-503(5), concerning the definition of 19
healthcare service within the Medical Ethics and Diversity Act, is amended to 20
read as follows: 21
(5) “Healthcare service” means medical research or medical care 22
provided to a patient at any time over the entire course of treatment, 23
including without limitation: 24
(A) Initial examination; 25
(B) Patient referral; 26
(C) Counseling or psychological therapy; 27
(D) Therapy; 28
(E) Testing; 29
(F) Research; 30
(G) Diagnosis or prognosis; 31
(H) Instruction; 32
(I) Dispensing or administering, or both, of any drug, 33
medication, or device; 34
(J) Set up or performance of a surgery or other procedure; 35
(K) Recordkeeping and recordmaking procedures and notes 36 SB444
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related to treatment; and 1
(L) Other care or services provided by a medical 2
practitioner or healthcare institution; 3
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SECTION 2. Arkansas Code § 17 -80-504 is amended to read as follows: 5
17-80-504. Right of conscience. 6
(a) A medical practitioner, healthcare institution, or healthcare 7
payer: 8
(1) Has the right not to participate in a healthcare service 9
that violates his, her, or its conscience; 10
(2) Is not required to participate in a healthcare service that 11
violates his, her, or its conscience; 12
(3) Is not civilly, criminally, or administratively liable for 13
declining to participate in a healthcare service that violates his, her, or 14
its conscience; 15
(4) Is not civilly, criminally, or administratively liable for 16
the exercise of conscience rights not to participate in a healthcare service 17
by a medical practitioner employed, contracted, or granted admitting 18
privileges by a healthcare institution; and 19
(5) Shall not be discriminated against in any manner based upon 20
his, her, or its declining to participate in a healthcare service that 21
violates his, her, or its conscience. 22
(b) Exercise of the right of conscience is limited to conscience -based 23
objections to a particular healthcare service. 24
(c) A worker in the medical field, whether a contractor or employee, 25
has the right to not facilitate or participate in an abortion, assisted 26
suicide, or gender transition procedure or service in any manner. 27
(d) A medical practitioner, healthcare institution, or healthcare 28
payer that holds himself, herself, or itself out to the public as religious, 29
states in its governing documents that it has a religious purpose or mission, 30
and has internal operating policies or procedures that implement its 31
religious beliefs has the right to make employment, staffing, contracting, 32
and admitting privilege decisions consistent with his, her, or its religious 33
beliefs. 34
(d)(e) The right of conscience described in subsection (a) of this 35
section does not include the right to deny emergency medical care as required 36 SB444
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under 42 U.S.C. § 1395dd, as existing on January 1, 2021, or any other 1
federal law governing emergency medical treatment, as existing on January 1, 2
2021. 3
(e)(1)(f)(1) When a medical practitioner declines to participate in a 4
healthcare service for reasons of conscience, the medical practitioner shall 5
alert the employing healthcare institution at the earliest reasonable time 6
and comply with any applicable protocol developed under this section. 7
(2)(A) A healthcare institution may develop a protocol for 8
situations in which a medical practitioner declines to participate in a 9
healthcare service. 10
(B) The protocol shall provide for prompt patient access 11
to medical records to facilitate transfer, if needed. 12
(3) This section does not require a healthcare institution or 13
medical practitioner to perform a healthcare service, counsel, or refer a 14
patient regarding a healthcare service that is contrary to the conscience of 15
the medical practitioner or healthcare institution. 16
(f)(1)(g)(1) This section does not prohibit an employer or contracting 17
healthcare institution from disclosing the specific healthcare services that 18
an applicant would be required to participate in if he or she is hired for 19
the position or contract. 20
(2) Upon being informed of the specific healthcare services 21
required of the position or contract, the applicant shall disclose whether 22
he, she, or it has a conscience objection to any of those required duties. 23
(3) However, a medical practitioner or healthcare institution 24
shall be able to decline to participate in a healthcare service that violates 25
his, her, or its conscience if the employer or contracting healthcare 26
institution, after employment, adds healthcare services to a medical 27
practitioner's or healthcare institution's duties that would require the 28
medical practitioner or healthcare institution to provide services that 29
violate his, her, or its conscience. 30
(g)(1)(h)(1) A healthcare payer shall file its conscience policies 31
annually with the State Insurance Department by including a comprehensive 32
list by billing code of any and all products, services, and procedures that 33
the healthcare payer shall not pay or make payment for reasons of conscience. 34
(2) The annual filing described in subdivision (g)(1) (h)(1) of 35
this section shall: 36 SB444
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(A) Be provided annually to each beneficiary of the 1
healthcare payer and on the website of the healthcare payer; and 2
(B) Not be required for any year in which the healthcare 3
payer will not exercise its conscience rights under this subchapter. 4
(h)(i) A healthcare payer shall not use a conscience objection to 5
refuse or reduce payments to a healthcare provider, healthcare institution, 6
or beneficiary for any product, service, or procedure that is not included in 7
the annual filing required under subdivision (g)(1) (h)(1) of this section. 8
(i)(j) A healthcare payer shall not compel by undue influence, fraud, 9
or duress a healthcare provider, healthcare institution, or beneficiary to 10
accept a contract or contract amendment that violates the conscience of the 11
healthcare provider, healthcare institution, or beneficiary. 12
(j)(k) The department may issue rules and take any other action 13
necessary or appropriate to enforce subsections (g)-(i) (h)-(j) of this 14
section. 15
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SECTION 3. Arkansas Code Title 17, Chapter 80, Subchapter 5, is 17
amended to add additional sections to read as follows: 18
17-80-507. Protection from discrimination. 19
(a) A healthcare provider shall not be discriminated against because 20
the healthcare provider: 21
(1) Provided, caused to be provided, or is about to provide or 22
cause to be provided information relating to any act or omission the 23
healthcare provider reasonably believes to be a violation of any provision of 24
this subchapter to: 25
(A) His or her employer; 26
(B) The Attorney General; 27
(C) The Department of Health; 28
(D) Any state agency charged with protecting healthcare 29
rights of conscience; 30
(E) The United States Department of Health and Human 31
Services; 32
(F) The United States Office for Civil Rights; or 33
(G) Any state or federal agency charged with protecting 34
healthcare rights of conscience; or 35
(2) Testified, assisted, or participated, or is about to 36 SB444
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testify, assist, or participate, in a proceeding concerning a violation. 1
(b) Unless the disclosure is specifically prohibited by law, a 2
healthcare provider shall not be discriminated against because the healthcare 3
provider discloses information, including by a formal or informal 4
communication, transmission, or discussion, that the healthcare provider 5
reasonably believes evidences: 6
(1) Any violation of any law; or 7
(2) Gross mismanagement, a gross waste of funds, an abuse of 8
authority, a practice or method of treatment that may put patient health at 9
risk, or a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety. 10
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision in this section, a complaint 11
by a medical practitioner against another medical practitioner shall be 12
submitted according to the peer review process mandated by the Health Care 13
Quality Improvement Act of 1986, 42 U.S.C. § 11101 et seq., as existing on 14
January 1, 2025. 15
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17-80-508. First Amendment protections. 17
(a)(1) A state licensing, certifying, or recognizing board or entity, 18
or the Department of Health, shall not reprimand, sanction, revoke, or 19
threaten to revoke a license, certification, or registration of, or otherwise 20
discriminate against, a medical practitioner for engaging in speech, 21
expression, or association that is protected from government interference by 22
the First Amendment of the United States Constitution, unless the board, 23
entity, or the department, as applicable, demonstrates by clear and 24
convincing evidence that the medical practitioner’s speech, expression, or 25
association was the direct cause of physical harm to a person with whom the 26
medical practitioner had a practitioner -patient relationship within the three 27
(3) years immediately preceding the incident of physical harm. 28
(2) The licensing, certifying, or recognizing board or entity, 29
or the department, as applicable, shall: 30
(A) Provide a medical practitioner with any complaints it 31
has received that may result in the revocation of the medical practitioner’s 32
license, certification, or registration, within twenty -one (21) days after 33
receipt of the complaint; and 34
(B) Pay the medical practitioner an administrative penalty 35
of five hundred dollars ($500) for each day the complaint is not provided to 36 SB444
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the medical practitioner after the specified twenty -one (21) days. 1
(b) A political subdivision of this state shall not contract with, 2
approve, or require an individual to obtain certifications or credentials 3
issued or approved by a specialty board or other recognizing or certifying 4
entity that revokes the certification of, or refuses to issue certification 5
to, an individual because the individual has engaged in speech, expression, 6
or association that is protected from government interference by the First 7
Amendment of the United States Constitution if the individual was not 8
providing medical advice or treatment to a specific patient that resulted in 9
physical harm to the patient. 10
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