By Arizona’s Family | 3TV/CBS 5
PHOENIX — At least three providers in Arizona are putting abortions on hold due to Friday’s U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. Planned Parenthood Arizona and Family Planning Associates Medical Group said just hours after the decision they will be pausing all abortions. It was later confirmed Desert Star Family planning in Phoenix made the same decision. Family Planning Associates said all appointments will be canceled until further notice. Those who got an abortion before Friday can still attend their follow-up appointments.
Since all seven Planned Parenthood health centers in Arizona stopped providing abortion services Friday, dozens of patients were sent home. “I know in our Tempe health Center location there were over 30 patients scheduled for abortions today and they all had to be turned away and other health center locations we also had to turn patients away,” said CEO Planned Parenthood Arizona Brittany Fonteno.
PPA blamed politicians for the confusion. “We are working with our attorneys to understand Arizona’s tangled web of conflicting laws so we can ensure patients know what our rights are and how to access legal abortion,” said Fonteno. FPA also said it’s assessing the legal landscape of what the ruling means for Arizonans and what laws are now on the books. The confusion arises because, during the 2022 legislative session, state lawmakers passed a law banning abortion after 15 weeks. But Arizona already had a law on the books from 100-plus years ago that banned abortion altogether. That measure calls for a mandatory prison sentence of two to five years for those who perform the procedure.
