Judge strikes down old Arizona abortion restrictions that clash with voter-backed guarantees

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona must stop enforcing abortion restrictions that predate and contradict a 2024 voter-approved constitutional amendment guaranteeing abortion rights, a judge ordered in a ruling released Friday.

Maricopa Superior Court Judge Greg Como found that the older laws present unnecessary obstacles to getting an abortion, including barring one if a woman was seeking it because the fetus had a non-fatal genetic abnormality, and requiring patients to see a doctor twice, at least 24 hours apart, before obtaining one.

He also took issue with the laws because they required abortion seekers to undergo ultrasounds and Rh blood testing, and barred doctors from prescribing abortion pills by telehealth and mailing them to patients. Pills are the most common way abortion is obtained.

“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,” Como wrote.

Kris Mayes, the state’s Democratic attorney general, supported the plaintiffs.

Two of Arizona’s top legislative Republicans — House Speaker Steve Montenegro and Senate President Warren Petersen — intervened in the lawsuit in support of the restrictions, arguing that abortion rights advocates wanted to sweep away health and safety regulations in the name of the constitutional amendment.

Peterson’s office said the ruling will be appealed.

In Arizona and many other states, abortion law has been in flux since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 and cleared the way for states to ban abortion. Even after voters approved the abortion rights amendment, throwing out a 2022 law that banned abortion after 15 weeks’ gestation, some older restrictions remained on the books.

Two obstetricians and the Arizona Medical Association sued last year over the continued enforcement of the old laws. They said the voter-backed constitutional amendment guaranteed the “fundamental right to abortion” and specifically barred the state from enacting, adopting or enforcing a law that “denies, restricts or interferes with that right before fetal viability.”

“My patients will no longer be forced to make additional unnecessary visits for care, nor will I be required to give them disinformation that stigmatizes abortion.” Dr. Laura Mercer, an OB-GYN and member of the board at the Arizona Medical Association, said in a statement Friday.

Ingrid Duran, the National Right to Life Committee’s state legislative director, told The Associated Press on Friday that she’s disappointed but not surprised by the ruling. She said the group intends to work on educating people in Arizona about its position to “expand our base into more pro-lifers who believe that the unborn child deserves protection.” But she said the group doesn’t expect the ruling to be overturned.

Since Roe was overturned, voters in several states have passed laws allowing abortion, while voters in others have rejected such measures. Missouri voters will decide this year whether to overturn a voter-backed amendment guaranteeing abortion rights. ___

Mulvihill reported from Haddonfield, New Jersey.