Pro-Lfie attorneys have filed legal papers with a court in Arizona asking it to allow the state’s abortion ban to take effect so it can begin saving babies from abortions. Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, 14 states have either an abortion ban or heartbeat law actively saving babies from abortions and several other states are fighting in court to protect unborn children, including in Arizona.
Alliance Defending Freedom attorneys representing Dr. Eric Hazelrigg, an obstetrician and medical director of Choices Pregnancy Center in Arizona, filed two briefs at the Arizona Superior Court in Pima County in defense of the state’s law protecting unborn lives.
The first brief asks the court to grant the Arizona attorney general’s request to vacate the injunction against the state’s pre-Roe v. Wade law that offered substantial protection for the unborn, which the court had previously blocked after Roe.
The second brief asks the court to appoint Dr. Hazelrigg as the individual to legally represent the best interests of unborn children in Arizona.
“Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has overruled Roe, Arizona is eager to preserve the innocent lives of the unborn and restore dignity to women and the medical profession,” said ADF Senior Counsel Denise Harle, director of the ADF Center for Life. “We’re pleased to work alongside Attorney General Brnovich in defending the state’s duly enacted law that protects the lives of mothers and their children.”
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The state of Arizona can exercise its legitimate interests in protecting the lives of unborn children and the health and safety of mothers by defending its pro-life law now that Roe has been overturned. As the brief filed in Planned Parenthood Arizona v. Brnovich explains “the overwhelmingly optional and elective nature of abortions in Arizona does not justify permitting abortion’s proven harm to unborn children and their mother’s health.”
Attorney General Mark Brnovich says the state’s pre-Roe abortion ban is enforceable and he is asking a court to allow him to enforce the ban so it can save babies from abortions. There is question about whether it can be enforced or whether a 15-week abortion ban Gov. Doug Ducey signed is the controlling law for the state — making it so the state will need to pass a new law banning abortions.
“Our office has concluded the Legislature has made its intentions clear with regards to abortion laws,” Brnovich said on Twitter. “ARS 13-3603 (the pre-statehood law) is back in effect and will not be repealed. We will soon be asking the court to vacate the injunction which was put in place following Roe v Wade in light of the Dobbs decision earlier this month.”
In an email to supporters, Brnovich added: “As AG, I’ve prioritized the rule of law and defense of the most vulnerable. That’s why I’ve fought in over 10 cases on behalf of the vulnerable and in defense of common-sense, pro-life laws duly passed in Arizona and states across the country. With the reversal of Roe, these decisions now belong to each state. I’m proud to lead in Arizona’s response.”
The old law bans abortions except in cases when it may be necessary to save the life of the mother and it also prosecutes anyone helping facilitate an abortion. Abortion businesses in Arizona stopped killing babies on Friday after the Supreme Court handed down the Dobbs decisions because they thought the old pre-Roe law might be enforced.
Planned Parenthood Arizona President and CEO Brittany Forteno confirmed that America’s largest abortion company had stopped killing babies in the state and other abortion centers followed suit.
As LifeNews reported, the Supreme Court has overturned Roe v. Wade, with a 6-3 majority ruling in the Dobbs case that “The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion” — allowing states to ban abortions and protect unborn babies. The high court also ruled 6-3 uphold the Mississippi 15-week abortion ban so states can further limit abortions and to get rid of the false viability standard.
Chief Justice John Roberts technically voted for the judgment but, in his concurring opinion, disagreed with the reasoning and said he wanted to keep abortions legal but with a new standard.
Texas and Oklahoma had banned abortions before Roe was overturned and Missouri became the first state after Roe to protect babies from abortions and South Dakota became the 2nd. Then Arkansas became the third state protecting babies from abortions and Kentucky became the 4th and Louisiana became the 5th and Ohio became the 6th and Utah became the 7th and Oklahoma became the 8th and Alabama became the 9th. This week, Mississippi became the 10th and South Carolina became the 11th,Texas became the 12th with its pre-Roe law and Tennessee became the 13th.
Michigan, Wisconsin and West Virginia have old pro-life laws on the books but there is question about whether they are applicable and will be enforced.
Ultimately, as many as 26 states could immediately or quickly ban abortions and protect babies from certain death for the first time in nearly 50 years.
The 13 total states with trigger laws that would effectively ban all or most abortions are: Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri, Mississippi, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Wyoming.
“Abortion presents a profound moral question. The Constitution does not prohibit the citizens of each State from regulating or prohibiting abortion. Roe and Casey arrogated that authority. We now overrule those decisions and return that authority to the people and their elected representatives,” Alito wrote.
“Roe was egregiously wrong from the start. Its reasoning was exceptionally weak, and the decision has had damaging consequences,” Alito wrote. “And far from bringing about a national settlement of the abortion issue, Roe and Casey have enflamed debate and deepened division.”
Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Stephen Breyer authored a joint dissent condemning the decision as enabling states to enact “draconian” restrictions on women.
Polls show Americans are pro-life on abortion and a new national poll shows 75% of Americans essentially agree with the Supreme Court overturning Roe.
Despite false reports that abortion bans would prevent doctors from treating pregnant women for miscarriages or ectopic pregnancies, pro-life doctors confirm that is not the case. Some 35 states have laws making it clear that miscarriage is not abortion and every state with an abortion ban allows treatment for both.
