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5-2-615. Use of physical force by a pregnant woman in defense of her unborn child.
Arkansas Code — all titles (historical 2020) · legal_authorities
5-2-615. Use of physical force by a pregnant woman in defense of her unborn child.
(a) As used in this section:
(1) “Pregnant” means the female reproductive condition of having an unborn child in the female's body; and
(2) “Unborn child” means the offspring of human beings from conception until birth.
(b) A pregnant woman is justified in using physical force or deadly physical force against another person to protect her unborn child if, under the circumstances as the pregnant woman reasonably believes them to be, she would be justified under § 5-2-606 or § 5-2-607 in using physical force or deadly physical force to protect herself against the unlawful physical force or unlawful deadly physical force she reasonably believes to be threatening her unborn child.
(c) The justification for using physical force or deadly physical force against another person to protect a pregnant woman's unborn child is not available if:
(1) The use of the physical force or deadly physical force for protection was used by a person other than the pregnant woman; or
(2)(A) The use of the deadly physical force for protection would not be allowed under § 5-2-607(b).
(B) However, the pregnant woman is not obligated to retreat or surrender possession of property as described in § 5-2-607(b) unless the pregnant woman knows she can avoid the necessity of using deadly physical force and simultaneously ensure the complete safety of her unborn child.
Source: Arkansas Code — historical release 78 (November 6, 2020) · 5-2-615
Stored review status: Historical 2020-11-06 source release; later amendments not reconciled; machine-extracted, not independently legally reviewed; source heading status: text_in_historical_source. A text match is a research starting point; applicability is not established.
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Record provenance
Stable record: arkansas_code:legal_authorities:5-2-615
Source file: gov.ar.code.title.05.odt
Pages: Not recorded – Not recorded
Passage SHA-256: 62bd32534f3c84fa60b25c1a75c06758460233088b39d7b8dc110e1dbc890f7c
Source location: content.xml paragraph 3216
Stored source content
5-2-615. Use of physical force by a pregnant woman in defense of her unborn child.
(a) As used in this section:
(1) “Pregnant” means the female reproductive condition of having an unborn child in the female's body; and
(2) “Unborn child” means the offspring of human beings from conception until birth.
(b) A pregnant woman is justified in using physical force or deadly physical force against another person to protect her unborn child if, under the circumstances as the pregnant woman reasonably believes them to be, she would be justified under § 5-2-606 or § 5-2-607 in using physical force or deadly physical force to protect herself against the unlawful physical force or unlawful deadly physical force she reasonably believes to be threatening her unborn child.
(c) The justification for using physical force or deadly physical force against another person to protect a pregnant woman's unborn child is not available if:
(1) The use of the physical force or deadly physical force for protection was used by a person other than the pregnant woman; or
(2)(A) The use of the deadly physical force for protection would not be allowed under § 5-2-607(b).
(B) However, the pregnant woman is not obligated to retreat or surrender possession of property as described in § 5-2-607(b) unless the pregnant woman knows she can avoid the necessity of using deadly physical force and simultaneously ensure the complete safety of her unborn child.
Cross-references
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Arkansas Code — all titles (historical 2020) · legal_authorities
5-2-606. Use of physical force in defense of a person.
(a)(1) A person is justified in using physical force upon another person to defend himself or herself or a third person from what the person reasonably believes to be the use or imminent use of unlawful physical force by that other person, and the person may use a degree of force that he or she reasonably believes to be necessary.
(2) However, the person may not use deadly physical force except as provided in § 5-2-607.
(b) A person is not justified in using physical force upon another person if:
(1) With purpose to cause physical injury or death to the other person, the person provokes the use of unlawful physical force by the other person;
(2)(A) The person is the initial aggressor.
(B) However, the initial aggressor's use of physical force upon another person is justifiable if:
(i) The initial aggressor in good faith withdraws from the encounter and effectively communicates to the other person his or her purpose to withdraw from the encounter; and
(ii) The other person continues or threatens to continue the use of unlawful physical force; or
(3) The physical force involved is the product of a combat by agreement not authorized by law.
Source: Arkansas Code — historical release 78 (November 6, 2020) · 5-2-606
Stored review status: Historical 2020-11-06 source release; later amendments not reconciled; machine-extracted, not independently legally reviewed; source heading status: text_in_historical_source. The source passage cites 5-2-606. This identifies an authority to review, not proof of applicability.
Arkansas Code — all titles (historical 2020) · legal_authorities
5-2-607. Use of deadly physical force in defense of a person.
(a) A person is justified in using deadly physical force upon another person if the person reasonably believes that the other person is:
(1) Committing or about to commit a felony involving force or violence;
(2) Using or about to use unlawful deadly physical force; or
(3) Imminently endangering the person's life or imminently about to victimize the person as described in § 9-15-103 from the continuation of a pattern of domestic abuse.
(b) A person may not use deadly physical force in self-defense if the person knows that he or she can avoid the necessity of using deadly physical force:
(1)(A) By retreating.
(B) However, a person is not required to retreat if the person is:
(i) Unable to retreat with complete safety;
(ii) In the person's dwelling or on the curtilage surrounding the person's dwelling and was not the original aggressor; or
(iii) A law enforcement officer or a person assisting at the direction of a law enforcement officer; or
(2) With complete safety by surrendering possession of property to a person claiming a lawful right to possession of the property.
(c) As used in this section:
(1) “Curtilage” means the land adjoining a dwelling that is convenient for residential purposes and habitually used for residential purposes, but not necessarily enclosed, and includes an outbuilding that is directly and intimately connected with the dwelling and in close proximity to the dwelling; and
(2) “Domestic abuse” means:
(A) Physical harm, bodily injury, assault, or the infliction of fear of imminent physical harm, bodily injury, or assault between family or household members; or
(B) Any sexual conduct between family or household members, whether minors or adults, that constit
Source: Arkansas Code — historical release 78 (November 6, 2020) · 5-2-607
Stored review status: Historical 2020-11-06 source release; later amendments not reconciled; machine-extracted, not independently legally reviewed; source heading status: text_in_historical_source. The source passage cites 5-2-607. This identifies an authority to review, not proof of applicability.