By Taylor Seely || The Arizona Republic
Phoenix leaders are considering a resolution to limit the effects of Arizona’s abortion bans, but how far the city is willing to go could be determined by legal risk and the November election.
A draft summary of the resolution says Phoenix would bar city resources and employees from being used to enforce state bans or restrictions on reproductive health care, including abortion.
The intent is clear: Help abortion providers feel comfortable to do their job without fear of criminalization, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego and councilmembers Debra Stark and Yassamin Ansari told The Arizona Republic.
The three elected women pushed for the resolution after a draft of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to reverse Roe v. Wade was published by Politico more than a month before the formal ruling came down.
The ruling from the nation’s highest court has prompted confusion in Arizona over which of its abortion laws is in play — a newly passed law that bans abortions after 15 weeks, which is scheduled to take effect this month, or a law from the state’s territorial days that bans nearly all abortions.
Pima County Superior Court Judge Kellie Johnson, who is tasked with determining whether the pre-statehood ban overrides the 15-week ban, has not yet made a decision.
In the meantime, Phoenix’s challenge is how to combat the state laws without violating them.
