The Arizona Supreme Court issued a 4-2 ruling Tuesday upholding Arizona’s 1864 territorial ban on all abortion unless necessary to save the mother’s life, A.R.S. 13-3603. After the Arizona Legislature passed a law in 2022 banning abortions after 15 weeks except to save the mother’s life, A.R.S. 36-2322, Planned Parenthood challenged the older law, which was revived after the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade.
Planned Parenthood alleged that the two laws were in conflict, so the earlier law must be struck down. After a split between the lower courts, the Arizona Supreme Court upheld the law, finding that the two statutes were harmonious. The court relied upon legislative language accompanying the newer law, which said it did not supersede the earlier law. Both laws penalize the provider of the abortion, not the mother.
The Arizona Freedom Caucus (AFC), composed of conservative members of the Arizona Legislature, issued a unanimous statement praising the decision and criticizing politicians who issued statements calling upon the legislature to revise the older law to make it less restrictive.
“Sadly, it seems that some are choosing to reject the fundamental, core principle of protecting life,” the statement said. “Some have chosen instead to jump on the bandwagon to legalize unrestricted abortions for the first 15 weeks of pregnancy — a position that would permit 95% of all existing abortions to continue. This is unacceptable, morally wrong, and abrasively out of step with the central tenants of the Republican Party Platform and Republican voters. Murdering children is not a policy disagreement. Democrat politicians’ infatuation with murdering children is evil. The Arizona Freedom Caucus refuses to participate in, or sit idly by in the face of, that evil.”
Read the rest of the article at The Arizona Sun Times
Subscribe to email updates from the Arizona Sun Times