Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich released a conclusion on June 29th specifying a pre-statehood abortion restriction that solely permits the procedure when it is required to save the Mother’s life is the law in Arizona.
Brnovich’s conclusion follows in the wake of the Supreme Court Ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson women’s health organization that resulted in the overturn of 1973’s Roe v. Wade and 1994’s Casey v. Planned Parenthood which previously regulated abortion on a federal level.
“Our office has concluded the Arizona Legislature has made its intentions clear regarding abortion laws,” Brnovich said on Twitter.
Our office has concluded the Arizona Legislature has made its intentions clear regarding abortion laws. pic.twitter.com/jvjKXaXKwd
— Mark Brnovich (@GeneralBrnovich) June 29, 2022
Brnovich told the press that he’ll be asking a judge to throw out an injunction, which was put in place following the 1973 decision of Roe v. Wade. When the U.S. Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade on Friday, it reverted the power to the states to determine abortion laws. Senate Republicans had initially stated the territorial-era law was in effect that prohibits abortion other than when the Mother’s life is in danger. Brnovich’s conclusion concurs. Under ARS 13-3603, anybody who carries out an abortion unless it’s to conserve the life of the Mother can face up to 2 to 5 years in prison.
The 1901 law will not be rescinded in 90 days by a bill signed in the 2022 legislative session that made it a crime for a physician to carry out an abortion after 15 weeks, with exceptions for the health of the Mother, according to Brnovich.
13-3603. Definition; punishment
“A person who provides, supplies or administers to a pregnant woman, or procures such woman to take any medicine, drugs or substance, or uses or employs any instrument or other means whatever, with intent thereby to procure the miscarriage of such woman, unless it is necessary to save her life, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than two years nor more than five years.”
The head of Planned Parenthood Arizona blasted Brnovich’s announcement as “cruel and callous.” “Today’s announcement is a cowardly move by the chief legal officer of our state and will be catastrophic for people seeking abortion care in Arizona,” president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Arizona Brittany Fonteno stated in a declaration. She added her company is preparing to go to court to fight against the law. “No one should be forced to flee their community and cross state lines in secret to access essential health care,” she said.
