Abortion in Arizona
Legal status of early pregnancy termination / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Abortion in Arizona is currently legal up to 15 weeks of pregnancy.[1] The Arizona Supreme Court ruled on April 9, 2024 that the near-total ban on abortion from 1864 is constitutional.[2] Attorney General Kris Mayes has stated that based on court rulings, enforcement of this law can begin from September 26, 2024.[3] However, Mayes, a Democrat, has also said that as long as she is in office, then women or doctors will not be prosecuted under this law.[4] This ban has been repealed by the Arizona state legislature and Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, but the repeal will not take effect until 90 days after the legislative session ends.[5]
As a territory, Arizona banned abortion in 1864, and although the law became unenforceable after the decision in Roe v. Wade, it remained in effect. The enforcement of the total ban was prevented by an injunction in the 1973 Arizona case Nelson v. Planned Parenthood, which based its decision solely on Roe.[6] The June 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization United States Supreme Court decision overturned Roe.[2] The injunction, which was lifted on September 23, 2022, by a superior court judge in Pima County,[7] was temporarily reinstated by the Arizona Court of Appeals on October 7, 2022.[8] On December 30, 2022, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled that the criminal penalties of the 1864 law could not be enforced.[9] On April 9, 2024, the Republican-controlled Arizona Supreme Court ruled in Planned Parenthood Arizona v. Mayes that the 1864 law could be enforced.[2][10]
By 1950, abortion was a criminal offense in Arizona.[11] In April 2012, abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy became illegal in Arizona;[12] however, enforcement of the ban was permanently blocked under an injunction.[13] Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers (TRAP) existed by 2013.
Abortion and religion have intersected in the state, particularly in the case of Sr. Margaret Mary McBride, R.S.M., a Sister of Mercy.
In a 2014 poll by Pew Research Center, 49% of Arizona adults said that abortion should be legal in all or most cases with 47% saying it should be illegal in all or most cases.[14] In a 2022 poll of 938 registered Arizona voters by OH Predictive Insights, 87% said they wanted abortion to remain legal in all or some cases.[15]