As Arizona state officials push legislators to repeal the 1864 abortion ban that took effect in the state Tuesday, for now they’re vowing not to prosecute either women or medical providers.
“We won’t be enforcing this law,” Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes told NPR of the near-total abortion ban set to take effect after this week’s Arizona Supreme Court decision.
Citing current laws prohibiting adultery and bigamy, Mayes said that there were laws on the books in Arizona and in every state that are not enforced.
“It’s my job to make sure that the resources of my office are properly utilized and spent,” Mayes said. She noted that she has “supervisory authority” over the state’s 15 county attorneys.
Mayes made it clear that if any county attorney attempts to prosecute a medical professional or a woman “under this insane, egregious 1864 abortion ban, [then] I will step in and I will stop them, or at least attempt to stop them.”
Mayes has the support to wield that power from Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, who in June, 2023, signed an executive order centralizing authority over abortion-related criminal prosecutions. According to the order, the Arizona Attorney General “shall assume all duties with regard to any criminal prosecution of a medical provider or other entity or individual” who a county attorney general is attempting to prosecute for violating any law restricting or prohibiting an abortion.
Hobbs was on the television talk show The View today talking about the abortion decision.
“As governor, I’m doing everything in my power to ensure that women can get the healthcare they need and that doctors won’t be criminalized for providing,” she said.
But she acknowledged that “there’s a lot of uncertainty” and she couldn’t guarantee that clinics currently offering abortions would continue to be able to provide that care.
County attorneys and doctors
According to Arizona law, county attorneys in Arizona are responsible for prosecuting public offenses, as well as defending the county in lawsuits and, among other roles, acting as legal counsel for boards of supervisors. In many cases, they make decisions whether or not to prosecute.
County attorneys are elected to office and serve four-year terms.
Yavapai County Attorney Dennis McGrane, a Republican, seems to be the only county attorney expressly pushing to enforce the 1864 abortion ban. McGrane was also party to the suit that resulted in this week’s decision.
Pinal County Attorney Kent Volkmer, a Republican, did not rule out possible prosecutions.
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell, a Republican, told the Arizona Republic, “My priority always has been to protect women, not prosecute them.”
Outside of who county attorneys or the attorney general may decide to prosecute or not, the law may already be having a chilling effect on medical professionals.
Dr. Jill Gibson, medical director of Planned Parenthood Arizona, in a press conference after the decision was issued on Tuesday, called the near-total abortion ban “catastrophic.”
“Rather than making clinical decisions based on what my patients are telling me, I will be phoning my lawyers for guidance on what I can do,” Gibson said. “Speaking for myself, I always plan to follow the law.”
For now, as the law has not yet taken effect and won’t for at least 45 days after this week’s ruling, Planned Parenthood Arizona noted in an April 9 press release that they will “continue to provide abortion services through 15 weeks for a short period of time.” Asked for more details about that timeline, they didn’t immediately respond.
Gibson said that the decision recalls the confusion sowed after Roe v. Wade was first repealed in 2022, when it was “impossible for a physician to understand the risks for taking care of her patients.”
Seeking a reversal
Mayes, speaking to NPR, recalled that the law on the books was written when Arizona wasn’t yet a state, when women couldn’t vote and when the Civil War was still raging.
“We still have an opportunity over the next 60 days to try to get this terrible decision reversed,” Mayes said. “It doesn’t take effect immediately. So we have anywhere from 45 to 60 days to try to stop this.” That short timeline is adding urgency to both Mayes and Hobbs’ attempts to block the law.
“I know Arizona women will die under this ban,” Hobbs told The View. Which is why, she said, she’s calling on the state legislators.
“They need to get their stuff together and just repeal it,” she said.
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