Following an Arizona Supreme Court ruling banning nearly all abortions in the state, Planned Parenthood Arizona says, for now, it will continue to provide abortion care through 15 weeks.
“While today’s ruling makes clear that the near-total ban on abortion will be enforced, it is important to note that abortion is still accessible in Arizona for a limited period of time,” Planned Parenthood Arizona said in a statement on Tuesday.
The Arizona Supreme Court issued a devastating ruling to allow a Civil War-era, near-total ban on abortion to be enforced against doctors.
— Planned Parenthood Arizona, Inc. (@PPArizona) April 9, 2024
Our doors are open. Planned Parenthood Arizona will continue to provide abortion care through 15 weeks, for a short period of time.
The statement continued with the reasoning: “That’s because in October 2022, in a separate lawsuit filed on behalf of a Phoenix doctor and the Arizona Medical Association, the Maricopa County Superior Court entered an order under which the State is barred from enforcing the 1864 near-total abortion ban until 45 days after the Arizona Supreme Court issues its mandate in the Mayes case. The mandate won’t issue for at least several weeks. As a result, Planned Parenthood Arizona will continue providing abortion through 15 weeks for a short period of time.”
In a historic decision Tuesday, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled the state must adhere to a 123-year-old penal code provision barring all abortions except in cases when “it is necessary to save” a pregnant person’s life.
The law, which can be traced to as early as 1864, also carried a prison sentence of two to five years for abortion providers. There is a 14-day stay on the law.
The court issued its ruling on Tuesday but still needs to issue a mandate. That mandate could happen in two weeks or longer they said.
“Definitely we can say that…we would be able to provide services through a substantial portion of May,” said Angela Florez, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Arizona.
Clinics are already seeing chaos and confusion, they said.
"Patients are coming in and they're literally already asking because they've already seen the news. And they're asking if their appointment will be upheld today,” said Dr. Jill Gibson, the chief medical officer at Planned Parenthood Arizona.
Planned Parenthood said it has also ramped up services to help patients access abortions in other states, such as New Mexico and California.
ABC15 will continue to follow this decision and what it means for you.
If you have questions you'd like us to get the answers to, send an email to share@abc15.com.
