PHOENIX — Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes released her general opinion Thursday on abortion law as it relates to medical emergencies.
The opinion comes at the request of lawmakers, who have asked for clarification on what is considered a "medical emergency" so there aren't any legal issues for patients and doctors down the line.
The conclusion of the opinion released Thursday reads: "To comply with the “medical emergency” exception in A.R.S. § 36-2322(A) and (B), as that term is defined in A.R.S. § 36-2321(7), a physician must do two things. She must exercise clinical judgment, and she must have an actual and honest belief—based on her clinical judgment—that either “a condition … so complicates the medical condition of a pregnant woman as to necessitate the immediate abortion of her pregnancy to avert her death,” or “a delay [in providing an abortion] will create serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major 19 bodily function.” The physician’s clinical judgment that an abortion was warranted cannot be second-guessed after the fact and cannot be prosecuted unless there is proof that she lacked good faith in making that determination."
READ THE FULL OPINION DOCUMENT HERE.
Attorney General Mayes spoke out to clarify emergency abortions in Arizona at the request of lawmakers Thursday morning:
For the last two years, Arizona has been in "legal limbo" when it comes to abortion. Currently, doctors can perform abortions until a patient is 15 weeks pregnant.
They can also perform an abortion at any point during pregnancy if there is an emergency. The near-total ban that dates back to 1864 was repealed by lawmakers earlier this year.
It will not be enforced, as long as the court order remains in place.
The opinion comes just days before the group "Arizona for Abortion Access" expects to deliver hundreds of thousands of signatures to get the issue on the November ballot. The deadline is next Wednesday to submit signatures to the Arizona Secretary of State's Office.
The group is hoping to get voters to decide on a constitutional amendment that would allow abortions up to the point of viability, which is around 24 weeks. The group "It Goes Too Far" is pushing against the potential ballot measure.
