Arizona Supreme Court Madness
Today’s video reports on a recent Arizona Supreme Court decision in which an 1864 law passed before Arizona was a state will prevail over a 2022 law that allowed abortion to approximately fifteen weeks. The 1864 law makes abortion illegal in almost every circumstance except when the life of the pregnant woman is at risk.
Last year and clearly prior to the recent Arizona Supreme Court ruling, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs signed an executive order “protecting reproductive freedom and bolstering Arizonans right to make decisions about their own bodies without interference from politicians.” A key component of the Executive Order is giving Attorney General Kris Mayes legal authority over abortion-related prosecutions.
What a mess. Most reasonable people believe there is probably more consensus on the issue of abortion rights than our polarized political environment suggests. That aside, when abortion is criminalized, but for the pregnant woman’s life being at risk, both the pregnant woman and the physicians and other providers involved, are put in unjustifiably perilous positions. It would be entirely understandable for appropriate care to be delayed given the fear of prosecution.
And what about the adolescent who’s been impregnated against her will by a male relative? Or any woman who has been raped? And do we want to add more anxiety to the grief of a pregnant woman who has suffered a miscarriage and fears that some might suspect she obtained an abortion?
The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology Abortion Policy is only three paragraphs, too long for our copy. We’ve linked it here for those who would like to read the entire document.
In part, it reads:
All people should have access to the full spectrum of comprehensive, evidence-based health care. Abortion is an essential component of comprehensive, evidence-based health care. . . . clinicians should not be subject to criminal penalties, lawsuits, fines or other punishments for providing the full spectrum of evidence-based care . . .ACOG advocates to improve access to full-spectrum reproductive services, to integrate abortion as a component of mainstream medical care, and to oppose and overturn efforts restricting access to abortion.
Medical decisions are best left between patients and clinicians. It is hard to believe that states that have embraced such extreme positions with respect to abortion policy will be attractive places for medical training – not just for Obstetrics and Gynecology but Pediatrics and Emergency Medicine. One can predict top candidates going elsewhere.
On a more positive note, the Arizona legislature is planning to revisit the matter later this year. But in the meantime, I’ve learned that Arizona Supreme Court Justices are appointed by the Governor but face a retention vote. That means that two of the four Judges who upheld this decision, Clint Bolick and Kathryn King, could be voted out of office later this year. Let’s hope Arizonans mobilize and do just that.
Thanks for reading.
