Abortions in Arizona and Ohio are legal after separate court rulings
Abortions in both Arizona and Ohio are legal once again after two separate rulings in court on Friday.
At the Arizona Court of Appeals, a three-judge panel sided with Planned Parenthood on Friday, which argued that Pima County Court Superior Court Judge Kellie Johnson shouldn’t have lifted an injunction that prevented a pre-statehood law that bans abortions in all circumstances, except if the mother’s life is in danger.
In Ohio, Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Christian Jenkins issued a preliminary injunction that blocks the state’s heartbeat bill, which bans abortions when a “fetal heartbeat” is detected, which could be as early as six weeks.
After Roe v. Wade was overturned, the law was put into effect, but was then paused.
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Abortion-rights supporters chant their objections at the Kentucky Capitol on Wednesday, April 13, 2022, in Frankfort, Ky.
(AP Photo/Bruce Schreiner, File)
Lawyers in the Arizona Attorney General’s office didn’t argue that the 15-week abortion law passed in March should nullify the pre-statehood abortion law. But they requested Johnson offer them relief from an injunction blocking them from enforcing the abortion ban.
Johnson granted the attorney general‘s request last month, but the court on Friday put the injunction back in place while Planned Parenthood attempts to appeal Johnson’s ruling.
President and CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America Alexis McGill Johnson said in a statement that the organization welcomes the order allowing abortions to resume.
“Today’s decision provides a desperately needed sense of security for both our patients and providers,” McGill Johnson said. “We can now breathe a sigh of relief and serve patients. While the fight isn’t over, for now, Arizonans will once again be able to make their own decisions about their bodies,