Federal judge in blocking Arizona’s ‘personality’ abortion law

A federal judge in Phoenix on Monday, July 11, 2022, blocked a 2021 state “personality” law that gives all legal rights to unborn children and allows providers to be prosecuted for a variety of crimes, abortion rights groups said. There is a risk of driving.

U.S. District Judge Douglas Reyes said in his written ruling that the groups that sued to block the law are correct—it’s “anyone’s guess”, as the state acknowledged, if they are otherwise legal. What criminal laws can abortion providers break if they have an abortion?

“And that’s the problem,” Reyes wrote. “When the punitive and regulatory burden of the entire Arizona Code is involved, plaintiffs must not infer that their conduct is on the right or wrong side of the law.”

At least four other states have similar “personality” laws, including Missouri, Kansas, Georgia and Alabama.

It’s not clear if abortions have been stopped in Arizona since. The US Supreme Court ruled last month That women do not have a constitutional right to an abortion will begin again. Abortion providers put off almost all procedures because all abortions were banned before 1901 and other laws posed too much risk.

At least in Pima County, where the 1901 law is blocked, they may be legal, although Attorney General Mark Branovich plans to ask a court to lift that order and allow enforcement.

Mr Reyes refused to block the persona law last year, but abortion rights groups called for Roe v. Renewed his request after Wade was killed.

‘Law unconstitutionally vague’

They argued that providers fear they could be charged with child abuse, assault or other crimes, and that the law was unconstitutionally vague. There are also concerns of civil and regulatory action.

The attorney general’s office told the judge that the personality law did not create any new criminal law, but acknowledged in its court filings that prosecutors and the courts may have a different view.

Abortion rights groups applauded the decision.

“The court today made the right decision by stopping this law from being used to impose unimaginably excessive abortion restrictions,” said Jessica Sklarsky, an attorney with the Center for Reproductive Rights. “The Supreme Court’s disastrous decision overturning Roe v. Wade has caused chaos on the ground, leaving Arizona residents scrambling to find out if they need abortion care.”

The Arizona Attorney General’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday evening.

Counsel for the attorney general’s office told Reyes during a July 8 hearing that the law does not create a new offense that could lead to charges. “Personality” law states that all other state laws must be interpreted to confer all rights to an unborn child.

Arizona’s “personality” law continues to fight despite all abortions being outlawed in the state. Arizona providers stopped providing the procedure because of concerns that a pre-1901 law that banned all abortions might no longer be in force, as Republican Attorney General Mark Branovich announced on June 29.

That law has been blocked since 1973, but Branovich has vowed to go to court to have that injunction removed. This injunction only applies to a larger county and to the Attorney General.

The attorney general’s office said in a court filing that Mr Reyes got it right last September when he refused to block the law. Reyes cited a 1989 US Supreme Court decision where the court refused to block Missouri’s nearly identical law.

Reyes said he has now changed his mind about the relevance of that case.

“The Court has now agreed that it was wrong to rely on Webster in the first place,” he wrote.

Sklarsky had argued that personality law is unconstitutionally vague on several fronts and told Mr Race that the attorney general had said in his court papers that it was “anyone’s guess” as to how a state judge or prosecutor would enforce the law. can.

Mr Reyes’ ruling blocks enforcement of the law, while challenges lie before court, including a possible trial.

“Medical providers should not speculate about whether the otherwise lawful performance of their jobs would result in criminal, civil, or professional liability based solely on how, literally or maximally, state licensing, law enforcement, and judicial Officials can understand the order of the interpretation policy,” Mr Reyes said.

States now have broad powers to limit abortions, and many laws that limit or block all abortions previously blocked can now be enforced. This has led to fighting in several states over which laws are now enforceable.

Arizona is in that position, with Republican Gov. Doug Ducey said a pre-1901 law banning abortion after 15 weeks, signed in March, Branovich said is in effect.

According to the most recent report from the Arizona Department of Health Services, there were just over 13,000 abortions in Arizona in 2020. Of those, less than 650 were performed after 15 weeks of gestation.