The Arizona Supreme Court should keep the Territorial-era complete ban on abortions but nullify all the laws passed between 1973 and 2022. That is how the people of Arizona have spoken, argued the Alliance Defending Freedom and physician Eric Hazelrigg to the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
Hazelrigg intervened in the case that was initially brought by Planned Parenthood after the U.S. Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade in 1973. After that court overturned Roe in last year’s Dobbs decision, the Arizona injunction against the Territorial-era complete ban came back into play, and then-AG Mark Brnovich successfully convinced Superior Court Judge Kellie Johnson to lift it.
The Court of Appeals effectively reversed that decision, saying that the restrictive laws – allowing Arizona physicians to perform procedures under a number of conditions – are still in effect.
Hazelrigg argues that all of those “Roe-era” laws specifically did not repeal the complete ban that was still on the books.
“In effect, the appeals court solved a manufactured conflict against legislative intent by partially repealing § 13-3603. And it justified this error by saying due process required it. But Arizona law is clear: no one may perform an abortion except to save the mother’s life. And nothing suggests that prosecutors will make arbitrary enforcement decisions.”
The Petition for Review (below) asks the Supreme Court to accept the appeal. Planned Parenthood and other parties have 30 days to respond.
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