Arizona abortionists sue to nullify state’s law protecting babies after 15 weeks

Abortionists in Arizona filed a lawsuit Tuesday to overturn the state’s law protecting preborn children from abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The suit came just weeks after the state’s voters approved Proposition 139, making abortion a “right” in the state constitution.

The American Civil Liberties Union, Planned Parenthood, and the Center for Reproductive Rights filed the lawsuit in Maricopa County Superior Court on behalf of the local chapter of Planned Parenthood and two abortionists.

“For two years, physicians’ hands have been tied when a patient needs to end a pregnancy after 15 weeks, including when they face serious pregnancy complications. But today we can once again provide care to people who want to end their pregnancy,” said Dr Eric Reuss, one of the lawsuit’s plaintiffs. “We hope the courts will quickly recognize the harms of Arizona’s ban and strike it down once and for all.”

Despite Reuss’ claims, Arizona’s 15-week law allows abortions in cases of “medical emergency” which the physician determines. The law states:

B. EXCEPT IN A MEDICAL EMERGENCY, A PHYSICIAN MAY NOT INTENTIONALLY OR KNOWINGLY PERFORM, INDUCE OR ATTEMPT TO PERFORM OR INDUCE AN ABORTION IF THE PROBABLE GESTATIONAL AGE OF THE UNBORN HUMAN BEING HAS BEEN DETERMINED TO BE GREATER THAN FIFTEEN WEEKS.

C. IN EVERY CASE IN WHICH A PHYSICIAN PERFORMS OR INDUCES AN ABORTION ON AN UNBORN HUMAN BEING WHOSE GESTATIONAL AGE IS GREATER THAN FIFTEEN WEEKS, THE PHYSICIAN, WITHIN FIFTEEN DAYS AFTER THE ABORTION, SHALL FILE WITH THE DEPARTMENT, ON A FORM SUPPLIED BY THE DEPARTMENT, A REPORT CONTAINING ALL OF THE FOLLOWING:

1. THE DATE THE ABORTION WAS PERFORMED.

2. SPECIFIC METHOD OF ABORTION USED.

3. THE PROBABLE GESTATIONAL AGE OF THE UNBORN HUMAN BEING AND THE METHOD USED TO CALCULATE GESTATIONAL AGE.

4. A STATEMENT THAT THE ABORTION WAS NECESSARY BECAUSE OF A MEDICAL EMERGENCY.

5. THE SPECIFIC MEDICAL INDICATIONS SUPPORTING THE DETERMINATION THAT A MEDICAL EMERGENCY EXISTED.

6. THE PROBABLE HEALTH CONSEQUENCES OF THE ABORTION.

7. THE PHYSICIAN’S SIGNATURE AS THE PHYSICIAN’S ATTESTATION UNDER OATH THAT THE INFORMATION STATED IS TRUE AND CORRECT TO THE BEST OF THE PHYSICIAN’S KNOWLEDGE.

READ: ‘PREVENTABLE’: How pro-abortion media is weaponizing reporting on maternal deaths

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs praised the lawsuit. “Arizonans made it clear that they support reproductive freedom, and there is no question that a ban with no exceptions for rape or incest should be removed from our laws,” she said, adding she is “glad Arizonans are working to finish the job and enforce the constitutional protections we now enjoy.”

A spokesperson for Attorney General Kris Mayes said that though the 15-week law is still on the books, her office will not be enforcing that law while the lawsuit plays out.

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Though abortion advocates continually refer to Arizona’s current law as a “ban,” in reality, the majority of preborn children are already legally allowed to be killed in the state.

Live Action News previously documented that in August of 2021, a review of CDC data by Guttmacher estimated “that between 6.3% and 7.4% of all U.S. abortions are obtained at or after 15 weeks of pregnancy.” This means that more than 90% of all abortions nationwide are committed before the 15-week mark; with Arizona’s current law, an overwhelming majority of abortions are still legally permitted. According to data from the Arizona Department of Health, 10,916 preborn lives were legally aborted before 15 weeks in 2022.

By 15 weeks, the preborn child’s organs are functioning. Her hair is beginning to grow, and she can even smile or grimace. She has had her own unique DNA since fertilization, and a beating heart since 22 days after fertilization. She is undeniably human. An abortion procedure to end her life would either involve brutally ripping her apart limb by limb, or poisoning her to death — both procedures which science has demonstrated she can almost certainly feel.

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“Today’s lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood, ACLU, abortion doctors, and others to overturn Arizona’s 15-week limit reveals the true pro-abortion agenda that denies the reality of an unborn child’s life,” said the Center for Arizona Policy in a statement. “Our commitment remains what it had always been: protect both the woman and her unborn child.”

Tell President Trump, RFK, Jr., Elon, and Vivek: Stop killing America’s future.

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