Arizona abortion procedures to resume as court grants request for stay

PHOENIX — Planned Parenthood’s motion for stay amid a lawsuit filed against a near-total abortion ban in Arizona has been granted by appellate court judges on Friday.

The ruling temporarily blocks enforcement of a law banning abortion that was set before Arizona was granted statehood and puts into effect a law that was passed earlier this year that grants abortion up until the first 15 weeks of pregnancy.

It allows Planned Parenthood to resume abortion procedures while the court case continues.

“The court of appeals said the trial court got it wrong, we are going to put the old law back on hold, so that means the 15-week law is in play now,” KTAR legal expert Monica Lindstrom told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Gaydos and Chad.

Judges Vasquez and Swann of the Arizona Court of Appeals made the decision in response to an emergency motion by Planned Parenthood.

The court also ruled that a conference will be conducted on Tuesday to determine if the case should be accelerated further with dates for a briefing schedule.

Last Friday, a decision by the Pima County superior court denied its stay, meaning that women seeking abortions’ would have had to seek alternative options out of state.

Abortion providers have ceased the procedure as the issue works its way through the courts.

“The court of appeals, when it put the old law on hold, it basically said the trial court got it wrong. The trial court has a responsibility to look at all of Arizona’s laws regarding abortion and harmonize them,” Lindstrom said.

Planned Parenthood of Arizona has been trying to keep the near-total ban from going into effect since the U.S. Supreme Court ruling on the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case in June.

Officials responsible for enforcing state laws, including Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich and Interim Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, have been calling for clarification, either from the courts or the Legislature.

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