A Pima County judge ruled Friday that Roe v. Wade was overturned in the U.S. Supreme Court.
Push News: Judge Kelly Johnson ruled that abortion restrictions in subsequent years were not as lenient as territorial-era bans.
- Attorney General Mark Brnovich urged Johnson to reinstate the 1973 law enacted in response to Roe.
- Planned Parenthood Arizona argues that other, looser laws passed since then should go into effect instead of the former Roe ban.
Why it matters: A law banning all abortions except those necessary to save a mother’s life is now in effect.
Game status: Lawmakers this year passed a ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, which was due to take effect on Saturday.
Yes, but: The legislation stressed that it would not repeal the former roe ban.
or note: Lawmakers in 2021 repealed part of the law that made it a felony for a woman to seek or obtain an abortion, leaving only the part that criminalized those who performed the abortion.
What are they talking about: Brnovich announced the ruling on Twitter, applauding the ruling.
- “We applaud the Court for upholding the will of the Legislature and for providing clarity and unity on this important issue. I have and will continue to protect the most vulnerable Arizonans,” he said. tweet.
Planned Parenthood Arizona Condemning the ruling, CEO Brittany Fonteno said it would “deprive Arizonans of the right to live under the rule of law that respects our bodily autonomy and reproductive decisions.”
- “Today’s ruling by the Pima County Superior Court has the practical and deplorable consequence of sending Arizonans back nearly 150 years. No ancient law should dictate our reproductive freedom and the way we live today,” Fonteno said.
at the same time: Governor’s spokesman CJ Karamargin. Doug Ducey insists the 15-week ban he signed earlier this year will remain the law of the land when the new legislation goes into effect on Saturday.
- “Governor Ducey is proud to sign SB1164, which goes into effect tomorrow. Arizona remains one of the most pro-life states in the country,” Karamargin told Axios.
Yes, but: The judge made clear in her ruling that it was inappropriate to “harmonize non-existent laws” at the time of the original injunction.
- Johnson noted that the legislature has repeatedly emphasized that the abortion laws enacted after Roe did not create abortion rights in Arizona.
- She noted that the language in the 15-week ban made it clear that the law did not repeal the former Roy ban.
- Cathy Herrod, president of the Arizona Policy Center, who advocated for the 15-week ban, said: wrote on twitter Started in 1973, the abortion law is now back where it was before Roe — it’s illegal unless the mother’s life needs to be saved.
Reality Check: Planned Parenthood Arizona will immediately suspend all abortion services in the state and will not be performing abortions for 15 weeks, spokesman Andrew Feldman told Axios.
- Lawyers for Planned Parenthood Arizona are assessing how Roy’s former ban, the 15-week ban and other abortion laws will interact with each other when the ban is lifted.
- Fonteno said the judge’s decision to lift the ban without stating how other abortion restrictions would interact with the territorial era ban “created confusion and confusion and will take away thousands of Arizonans from control over their reproductive lives,” Fonteno said. And their ability to have safe, legal abortions.”
What’s next: In her ruling, Johnson noted that there may be other legal issues that need to be addressed about the future of abortion in the state.
Bottom line: Planned Parenthood did not say whether it would appeal the ruling, but Fonteno said the legal battle was not over, saying in a press release that “this is not the end of the fight.”