Arizona among states to condemn Texas Supreme Court decision to deny woman abortion
Dec 14, 2023, 11:00 AM
Arizona was one of 11 states to condemn the Texas Supreme Court's decision to not allow an abortion for a woman whose fetus had a fatal condition. (AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades)
(AP Photo/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades)
PHOENIX — Arizona was one of 11 states to condemn the Texas Supreme Court’s decision to deny an abortion for a woman whose fetus has a fatal condition.
Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, said it was the wrong decision since the fetus of the woman, 31-year-old Kate Cox, has a condition known as trisomy 18, which has low survival rates.
Cox’s lawsuit argued that continuing the pregnancy jeopardized both her health and ability to have more children. She is a mother of two.
Cox left the state Monday to get an abortion, six days after the Texas high court made its decision.
“No one should be forced to fight in court and leave their home state just to receive the health care they need,” Mayes said in a press release Wednesday. “As this case shows, abortion bans pose dangerous health and safety threats wherever they are enacted.”
California, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Vermont and the District of Columbia also condemned Texas’ decision.
What’s the latest on Arizona’s abortion case?
Mayes’ remarks come in the same week the Arizona Supreme Court began hearing arguments over whether a pre-statehood ban on nearly all abortions has been limited or made moot by other statutes enacted over the past 50 years.
A lower-court decision said doctors couldn’t be charged for performing the procedure in the first 15 weeks of pregnancy because other Arizona laws over the years have allowed them to provide abortions.
The 1864 law, which remains on the books, imposes a near total ban on abortions, providing no exceptions for rape or incest but allowing them if a mother’s life is in danger.
Nearly a year ago, the Arizona Court of Appeals concluded that doctors can’t be prosecuted for performing abortions in the first 15 weeks. But it said people who aren’t doctors would still be subject to prosecution under the old law.
Opening arguments were Tuesday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
