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Ray Stern
Arizona Republic
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has taken action to limit abortion-related prosecutions as the one-year anniversary approaches of the U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
An executive order Hobbs signed June 22 gives state Attorney General Kris Mayes the power to handle any attempted county prosecution under state abortion laws, bans state agencies from assisting investigations for alleged violations in other states and bans extradition of people accused of violating other states’ abortion laws.
It also creates a Governor’s Advisory Council on Protecting Reproductive Freedom that would recommend ideas to “expand access to sexual and reproductive freedom health care in Arizona,” among other goals.
“I made a promise to Arizonans that I would do everything in my power to protect reproductive freedom, and this Executive Order reflects that promise,” Hobbs, a Democrat, said in a prepared statement. “I will not allow extreme and out of touch politicians to get in the way of the fundamental right Arizonans have to make decisions about their own bodies and futures. I will continue to fight to expand access to safe and legal abortion in any way that I can.”
The Supreme Court ruling on June 24, 2022, in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization initially threw Arizona back to the 1800s, halting abortion services for a time over fear of a pre-statehood law that required mandatory prison for abortion providers. A court later ruled in favor of a newer law that abortions performed by licensed physicians were legal up to 15 weeks of pregnancy, but without exceptions in cases of rape or incest. Still, abortion advocates continue to worry over current and future restrictions in Arizona.
Hobbs’ executive order seeks to take command over the uncertainty, “centralizing” authority over intended abortion prosecutions in Arizona and “ensuring differences in interpretation or application of the law by different county attorneys do not chill, deter, or restrict access to lawful abortion care,” according to her office’s statement.
