NEW ORLEANS (AP) – Arizona’s Attorney General on Wednesday said a total ban on abortion, which is in pre-state books, could be imposed, pitting him against Republican Gov. Doug Ducey, who said that the 15-week abortion ban he signed in March took precedence.
Attorney General Mark Bernovich is reviewing the law, which has been in the books since at least 1901, after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned its 1973 Rowe v. Wade ruling last week. Arizona abortion clinics immediately stopped the procedure after a court ruling on Friday for fear of prosecution.
Other states are also struggling with when and how to impose bans that have been blocked nationwide under Roe. The Louisiana Attorney General on Wednesday issued a warning to doctors not to perform abortions, despite a judge’s order blocking the state from imposing a ban on the procedure.
In a letter to the Louisiana State Medical Society, Attorney General Jeff Landry said Monday’s state judge’s order to block enforcement “has limited scope” and abortion is a crime since Friday’s decision giving states the power to ban abortions.
“It is the duty of this service to advise you that any doctor who would or has had an abortion of choice after the Dobbs Supreme Court ruling threatens his or her liberty and medical license,” Landry wrote, citing Friday’s ruling. .
The Supreme Court ruling has sparked legal battles in many states, where lawmakers are seeking to ban or restrict abortions.
The two abortion clinics in Kentucky asked a judge on Wednesday to issue a temporary restraining order to block a U.S. law that went into effect following a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday. Lawyers at a Louisville clinic say the Kentucky constitution allows for abortion. They said one of the clinics had turned down about 200 potential patients since Friday’s decision.
The Arizona conflict between two Republicans was not unexpected. The leader of the group that helped write the law and the Republican senator who sponsored it, Nancy Barto, argued that the old law could be implemented. They pointed to a specific provision according to which it does not repeal this law. Bernovich came down to their side.
“Our service has concluded that the legislature has clarified its intentions regarding abortion laws,” Brmovic said on Twitter. “ARS 13-3603 (the law before statehood) is in force again and will not be repealed” when the new law came into force at the end of September.
A spokesman for Ducey CJ Karamargin, the governor’s office, was reviewing Bernovich’s decision and had no immediate comment.
Abortion providers also cite the old law and another passed last year, which gives all rights to eggs and fetuses, as a reason to suspend procedures.
The old law has been in force since at least 1901, 12 years before statehood. It says anyone who helps a pregnant woman have an abortion can be sentenced to two to five years in prison. The only exception is if the woman’s life is in danger.
It has been blocked since 1973, but Bernovic says he will see to it that the ban is lifted.
Lawyers for abortion providers in Ohio on Wednesday asked the state’s Supreme Court to use its powers to lift the abortion ban on the first detected “fetal pulse.” The American Civil Liberties Union, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and others argue that the law violates the broad protection of individual freedom of the Ohio Constitution.
A challenge to the West Virginia abortion ban was announced Wednesday by the state’s ACLU. The organization said it was joining others in filing a lawsuit in Canauha County District Court on behalf of the West Virginia Women’s Health Center. The ACLU says the state ban dates back to the 1800s and has been replaced by a number of laws passed since then, including a 20-week abortion ban that was passed in 2015 and recognizes a patient’s right to an abortion.
Earlier, Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall was quick to warn that optional abortions were illegal in the state. His statement came Friday after a federal judge overturned the order shortly after the Supreme Court ruling.
The decision has also led to an increase in demand for emergency contraceptives – and to restrictions by some retailers on how much emergency contraception can consumers buy,
In Louisiana, Landry’s spokesman did not immediately respond to a statement asking if his office would seek to prosecute doctors who perform abortions while the judge’s order is in effect.
The state’s three abortion clinics have said they will resume operations while the order is in effect. It was not immediately clear whether this decision would be affected by Landry’s letter.
Louisiana and Kentucky are among the states that have had “triggering” laws designed to ban abortion, with few exceptions, pending a Supreme Court ruling terminating abortion rights.
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Associated Press reporters Bob Christie in Phoenix, Julie Smith in Columbus, Ohio, and Dylan Lovan in Louisville, Kentucky, contributed to this story.
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For full coverage of the AP on the Supreme Court’s decision on abortion, visit https://apnews.com/hub/abortion.
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This story corrects the spelling of Kanawha County.
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