Arizona faces a "thorny road ahead" in parsing the legal ramifications of the state Supreme Court's decision upholding a 19th-century abortion ban, according to lawyer Misty Marris.
Context
On Tuesday, by a 4-2 ruling, the Arizona Supreme Court voted to allow an 1864 anti-abortion law, which predates Arizonan statehood, to stand. The law criminalized abortion by making it a felony punishable by two to five years in prison for anyone who performs an abortion or helps a woman obtain one.
The ruling will lift a stay on the law, allowing it to go into effect in 14 days. The law includes only a narrow exception in cases where a pregnancy is a threat to the mother.
The law went unenforced for decades in the state after the U.S. in 1973 created federal protections for abortion rights in its Roe v. Wade ruling. Following the court's overturning of that precedent in 2022, numerous states have similarly enacted or revived past anti-abortion legislation.
What We Know
During an appearance on CNN, Marris, a lawyer and legal analyst, warned that the Arizona government now faces a troublesome path in defining the law's specifics. She specifically singled out the issues that will be faced in defining what constitutes a threat to the mother, which has been left murky in other states with such exceptions.
"The question is, what is a life-saving measure? How far does that have to be?" Marris said. "Is it truly that someone is at death's door? Or is it a condition that could impact the mother's life that qualifies under the statute? So all of that has to be hashed out.
"As far as what happens immediately, the governor [Democrat Katie Hobbs] had actually gotten ahead of this and there is an executive order that says that the attorney general [Democrat Kris Mayes] is responsible for enforcing this statute, for enforcing this decision, and the attorney general has said, and I imagine we're going to hear from them today, that they are not going to move forward with enforcement.
"Now that leads to a lot of other legal issues and challenges from local prosecutors, so this is a thorny road ahead with a lot more legal issues that are going to come."
Newsweek reached out to Hobbs' office via email on Tuesday for comment.
Views
In the wake of the state court's ruling Tuesday, Mayes released a statement condemning it and pledged that, "as long as I am Attorney General, no woman or doctor will be prosecuted under this draconian law in this state."
"The decision made by the Arizona Supreme Court today is unconscionable and an affront to freedom," Mayes said. "Make no mistake, by effectively striking down a law passed this century and replacing it with one from 160 years ago, the Court has risked the health and lives of Arizonans. The Arizona Court of Appeals decision, which the Supreme Court has struck down today, was well reasoned and aligned with how courts harmonize different legislation."
What Comes Next
President Joe Biden's 2024 reelection campaign announced Tuesday that Vice President Kamala Harris will be visiting Tucson, Arizona, on Friday for an event focused on "reproductive freedom."
Update 4/9/24, 3 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Thomas Kika is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in upstate New York. His focus is reporting on crime and national ... Read more
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