While we have made an effort to ensure that this information is correct and current, the law is regularly changing, and we cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information provided. This information may not be applicable to your specific situation and is not, and should not be relied upon, as a substitute for legal advice.
HIV-Specific Criminal Laws
Arkansas has HIV-specific criminal statutes.
For detail on the selected state law and cases interpreting it, see Arkansas: Analysis & Codes, an excerpt from CHLP’s recently updated compendium of HIV- and STI-related criminal laws and civil laws relating to public health control measures in all 50 states, the military, and U.S. territories. To view the publication in its entirety, see HIV Criminalization in the United States: A Sourcebook on State and Federal HIV Criminal Law and Practice. Methodology is explained in the Introduction (page 5).
People living with HIV (PLHIV) may be criminally liable and charged with a felony for nondisclosure when having engaged in sexual conduct.
PLHIV may be criminally liable and charged with a felony for "parenteral transfer of blood or blood products," which may potentially include spitting or biting.
PLHIV may be criminally liable and charged with a felony for "parenteral transfer of blood or blood products," which may potentially include sharing syringes.
PLHIV may be criminally liable and charged with a felony for "parenteral transfer of blood or blood products," which may potentially include blood or organ donation.
PLHIV convicted of the criminal exposure statute may be required to register as sex offenders.
PLHIV may also be charged under general criminal laws.
It is also a misdemeanor for PLHIV to receive medical or dental care without disclosing positive status.
State Guidelines on Health Care Workers with HIV
We currently are in the process of reviewing and updating our resources and summaries related to health care workers and disclosure. In the meantime, please do not rely on this information as current, and get in touch with CHLP with any questions.
Invasive procedure means any surgical or other diagnostic or therapeutic procedure involving manual or instrumental contact with or entry into any blood, body fluids, cavity, internal organ, subcutaneous tissue, mucous membrane or percutaneous wound of the human body. Exposure-prone procedure means an invasive procedure in which there is a risk of percutaneous injury to the practitioner by virtue of digital palpation of a needle tip or other sharp instrument in a body cavity or the simultaneous presence of practitioner’s fingers and a needle or other sharp instrument or object in a poorly visualized or highly confined anatomic site, or any other invasive procedure in which there is a risk of contact between the blood or body fluids of HCW or patient.
Voluntary Testing.
In all cases in which an infected HCW performs an exposure-prone procedure, the HCW’s HIV status must be reported to patients and other health care personnel.
HCW cannot participate in exposure-prone procedure unless each of the following conditions have been met: (a) HCW has affirmatively advised the patient that HCW has been diagnosed as infected; (b) Patient has been advised of the risk of HCW’s transmission during an exposure-prone procedure. HCW shall personally communicate such information to patient; (c) Patient has subscribed a written instrument setting forth: (1) identification of exposure-prone procedure to be performed; (2) acknowledgment that advice concerning (a) and (b) have been given to and understood by the patient; and (3) consent of patient to performance of or participation in designated procedure; and (d) HCW’s seropositivity has been affirmatively disclosed to other HC personnel who participate or assist in procedure.
Minors' Access to STI and HIV Testing and Treatment
These summaries highlight key aspects of state laws governing the rights of minors to consent to testing and/or treatment for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and HIV. Any such summary cannot capture the details and nuances of individuals state laws. Although roughly a third of the states permit health care providers to inform a minor's parents that their child is seeking STI-related services, none require it. Also, the law is fluid, and these summaries may not reflect recent legislative change in a particular state.
Every state in the country allows minors to consent to STI testing and care without parental approval, although a number of these set an age threshold for the right to consent without parental involvement. In these states, the minimum age ranges from 12 to 14 years of age.
As of the date of this posting, thirty-one states allow minors to also consent to HIV testing and treatment without parental approval.
HIV Testing
Unlike testing for most other infectious diseases, testing for HIV involves possible benefits as well as social, economic, and legal consequences that typically are not apparent or known to an individual considering testing. HIV-related testing is the gateway to health-preserving treatment; it also can be the basis of criminal prosecution for those who are sexually active, or relied on to exclude individuals who test positive for HIV from programs, employment, or insurance. Although state and federal laws prohibit much of this discrimination against people with HIV, the ability to enforce those rights usually depends on access to free legal services, which are increasingly limited and not available at all in roughly half of the states in the United States. Thus, the potential negative consequences of HIV testing at a particular time or location might inform an individual's decision of whether or when to get tested for HIV; or whether to test anonymously or through a "confidential" testing process that reports their test results and identifying information to the state but maintains the confidentiality of those results.
The American Medical Association has long defined informed consent as a process of communication between a patient and physician that results in the patient's authorization or agreement to undergo a specific medical intervention. Although informed consent is a legal concept rather than a medical one, many states use definitions of "informed consent" for purposes of HIV testing and medical procedures that in fact are inconsistent with the accepted legal definition, e.g., they do not require that an individual receive information or sometimes even notification that they are about to be tested for HIV. The Center for HIV Law and Policy (CHLP) accepts the legal and court-affirmed definition of informed consent; therefore, state protocols that call for "opt-out" testing (a patient is tested for HIV unless she/he objects) or that mirror general consent approaches are not counted as "informed consent" laws even in those instances where the state legislature has characterized their state law as requiring "informed consent." In short, CHLP does not consider or count laws that allow a patient's silence or general consent as granting authority to do confidential HIV testing as informed consent laws.
Notification to sexual partners of possible exposure to HIV is required.
Find the laws in a different state.
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Legal Disclaimer: CHLP makes an effort to ensure legal information is correct and current, but the law is regularly changing, and the accuracy of the information provided cannot be guaranteed. The legal information in a given resource may not be applicable to all situations and is not—and should not be relied upon—as a substitute for legal advice.