A judge in Maricopa County Superior Court ordered Friday that Arizona must stop enforcing laws that predate the state’s 2024 Right to Abortion constitutional amendment.
Judge Greg Como enjoined the state from enforcing laws that barred abortion if sought for a non-fatal genetic abnormality and that barred the prescription of abortion pills by telehealth. He also enjoined the state from requiring ultrasounds, Rh blood testing, and two doctor visits at least 24 hours apart before an abortion. These laws were passed before the constitutional amendment in 2024.
He wrote: “Each of these laws infringe on a woman’s ‘autonomous decision making’ by mandating medical procedures and disclosure of information regardless of the patient’s needs and wishes.”
The amendment to Arizona’s constitution says that “every individual has the fundamental right to abortion that the state of Arizona may not interfere with before the point of fetal viability.” The state cannot interfere with this right “unless justified by a compelling state interest,” defined as “a law or regulation enacted for the limited purpose of improving or maintaining the health of the individual seeking abortion care.” Such a law must not “infringe on that individual’s autonomous decision-making.”
Judge Como was especially critical of the Reason Ban, which made it a felony to seek an abortion for a non-fatal genetic abnormality. He wrote that the ban “is inconsistent with patient autonomy because it inhibits informed decision making…[and]…with accepted clinical standards of practice or evidence based medicine. Patients who are seeking abortion care after a fetal diagnosis often…require extra empathy, compassion, and understanding. Yet, without knowing about the diagnosis, abortion providers cannot reassure patients.”
House Speaker Steve Montenegro and Senate President Warren Petersen defended the lawsuit, calling it an attempt to remove health and safety regulations in the name of the constitutional amendment. Peterson’s office said he will appeal the ruling.
