When the U.S. Supreme Court issued its landmark Dobbs decision, which ended federal abortion protections, no one – not lawmakers, doctors, lawyers, hospital networks and least of all constituents – seemed to know what abortion access in Arizona would look like in a post-Roe era.
Amid the confusion, providers in the state immediately halted abortion procedures.
Nearly two weeks after the Dobbs decision was announced, Arizonas are still largely in the dark, and Southwest Valley lawmakers and hospital networks have been slow to provide clarity.
It doesn’t help that there are competing abortion laws on the books – one that was passed in March 2022 that bans abortion after 15 weeks and another, much more restrictive law from Arizona’s territorial days that bans abortion in almost all cases, save for life of the mother.
Senate Bill 1164, the so-called "15-week ban" would have gone into effect in September – 90 days after the legislature adjourns in Arizona. But according to a June 29 tweet by Attorney General Mark Brnovich Arizona’s territorial ban, enacted in 1901, takes precedence.
Our office has concluded the Arizona Legislature has made its intentions clear regarding abortion laws. pic.twitter.com/jvjKXaXKwd
The 70-word statute is short and broad but does spell out a two- to five-year prison term for anyone found guilty of performing an illegal abortion. There are no exemptions for rape or incest.
While Brnovich signaled the territorial ban is enforceable, he also promised to file to remove the injunction that has blocked it for nearly 50 years, an injunction Planned Parenthood has pledged to defend in court.
While the parties prepare to battle it out in court, it’s anyone’s guess where Arizona abortion rights stand in the meantime.
“A person who provides, supplies or administers to a pregnant woman, or procures such woman to take any medicine, drugs or substance, or uses or employs any instrument or other means whatever, with intent thereby to procure the miscarriage of such woman, unless it is necessary to save her life, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than two years nor more than five years.”
The majority of legislators representing the Southwest Valley have ignored or declined requests for comment on this story.
Leaders at the local level have also remained mum. Goodyear elected officials declined to comment and Litchfield Park leaders did not respond.
“We can't expect doctors to do anything that would endanger their medical license.”
One state lawmaker who agreed to speak to the Independent was house Rep. Brian Fernandez, a Democrat representing District 4, which includes Goodyear and Litchfield Park.
The Democratic Party has faced heavy criticism from within in the wake of Dobbs for what some called a lukewarm response from the White House down to the state level.
Fernandez defended his party saying there isn’t much Arizona Democrats can presently do, and instead laid blame at the feet of would-be voters who sat out of the 2016 presidential election.
“Elections have consequences,” Fernandez said. “Trump got three Supreme Court justices…If Trump doesn't get elected, this doesn't happen.”
The house representative said if people want Democrats to do something, “they need to vote and they need to get us control…we need to have control to be able to do something, and we just don’t have it.”
Fernandez also echoed concerns Arizona’s laws could cause doctors to hesitate to perform an abortion in an emergency situation for fear of reprisals, which could result in death or injury of the patient.
“We can't expect doctors to do anything that would endanger their medical license,” he said.
But Arizona House Republican Tim Dunn, who touts his pro-life bonafides on his campaign website, doesn’t buy it.
“Doctors are constantly in a situation of making life-saving decisions,” he said via text message. “In complicated pregnancies, I believe the doctors will do what is necessary to protect the mother.”
“I don’t believe this decision is any different than a complication after the 22-week ban that was in previous law,” Dunn said. “I believe that part of the law is clear.”
When asked about how the law would handle doctors performing an abortion in a case that may not be life-threatening but risk the health of the mother, Dunn responded, “I am not a lawyer, but life-saving means life-saving.”
“It is possible the court will send a message that the legislature will need to clarify what Arizona statute will look like. Who is to decide what percentage of disability of the mother warrants the taking of the unborn life.”
Dunn said his best guess is the Arizona Supreme Court will decide which law takes precedence and the state Legislature may need to clarify in the next session, which won’t begin until January 2023.
“At this point, we cannot provide further comments.”
It’s unclear how Southwest Valley hospitals are handling the confusion.
Spokespeople for Abrazo West and Dignity Health, which operate emergency rooms in Goodyear, either ignored or declined to answer questions on their current policies.
Dignity Health, instead suggested the Independent reach out to the Health System Alliance of Arizona an industry group representing both Dignity and Abrazo.
HSAZZ’s brief comment was, in short, that the organization is still “reviewing” the Supreme Court decision and Arizona law “to analyze their impact on our Arizona hospital and health systems operations,” according to the statement attributed to CEO Brittney Kaufmann.
“At this point, we cannot provide further comments.”
Madeline Ackley Salazar can be reached at mackley@iniusa.org or found on Twitter @Mkayackley.
Madeline Ackley is a Phoenix-area native who joined Independent Newsmedia in July 2021 as a reporter for the Goodyear-Litchfield Park Independent. She is passionate about delivering hyperlocal coverage of issues that matter to her community.
She has previously covered immigration, policing, homelessness, veteran’s issues and breaking news and her byline has appeared in The Arizona Mirror, The Arizona Republic, The Phoenix Business Journal and Cronkite News.
Madeline is passionate about animal welfare and the environment. She loves to cook, travel and spend time with her family.
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