{"id":1405298,"date":"2026-02-06T17:31:46","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T22:31:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/?p=1405298&#038;preview=true&#038;preview_id=1405298"},"modified":"2026-02-06T17:37:00","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T22:37:00","slug":"old-arizona-abortion-restrictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/2026\/02\/06\/old-arizona-abortion-restrictions\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge strikes down old Arizona abortion restrictions that clash with voter-backed guarantees"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>By GEOFF MULVIHILL and SEJAL GOVINDARAO<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>PHOENIX (AP) \u2014 Arizona must stop enforcing abortion restrictions that predate and contradict a 2024 voter-approved constitutional amendment guaranteeing abortion rights, a judge ordered in a ruling released Friday.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"related left\"><h2 class=\"widget-title\" data-curated-ids=\"\" data-relation-type=\"automatic-primary-section\">Related Articles<\/h2><ul><li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/2026\/02\/08\/housing-costs-are-crippling-many-americans-heres-how-the-two-parties-propose-to-fix-that\/\" title=\"Housing costs are crippling many Americans. Here\u2019s how the two parties propose to fix that\">\n\t\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title metered\">\n\t\t\tHousing costs are crippling many Americans. Here\u2019s how the two parties propose to fix that\t\t<\/span>\n\n\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n<\/li><li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/2026\/02\/07\/vaccine-court-overhaul\/\" title=\"Her son\u2019s injury never got its day in vaccine court. Their lawyer is now advising RFK Jr. on its overhaul\">\n\t\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title metered\">\n\t\t\tHer son\u2019s injury never got its day in vaccine court. Their lawyer is now advising RFK Jr. on its overhaul\t\t<\/span>\n\n\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n<\/li><li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/2026\/02\/06\/border-family-separation\/\" title=\"Judge orders Trump administration to bring back 3 families deported to Honduras, other countries\">\n\t\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title metered\">\n\t\t\tJudge orders Trump administration to bring back 3 families deported to Honduras, other countries\t\t<\/span>\n\n\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n<\/li><li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/2026\/02\/06\/epstein-house-unredacted-files\/\" title=\"Justice Department will allow lawmakers to see unredacted versions of released Epstein files\">\n\t\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title metered\">\n\t\t\tJustice Department will allow lawmakers to see unredacted versions of released Epstein files\t\t<\/span>\n\n\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n<\/li><li>\n\t\t\t<a class=\"article-title\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/2026\/02\/06\/us-social-service-funds\/\" title=\"Feds can\u2019t withhold social service funds from 5 Democratic states amid fraud claims, judge rules\">\n\t\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"dfm-title metered\">\n\t\t\tFeds can\u2019t withhold social service funds from 5 Democratic states amid fraud claims, judge rules\t\t<\/span>\n\n\n\n\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\n\t\n<\/li><\/ul><\/aside>\n<p>Maricopa Superior Court Judge Greg Como found that the older laws present unnecessary obstacles to getting an abortion, including barring one if a woman was seeking it because the fetus had a non-fatal genetic abnormality, and requiring patients to see a doctor twice, at least 24 hours apart, before obtaining one.<\/p>\n<p>He also took issue with the laws because they required abortion seekers to undergo ultrasounds and Rh blood testing, and barred doctors from prescribing abortion pills by telehealth and mailing them to patients. Pills are the most common way abortion is obtained.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEach of these laws infringe on a woman\u2019s \u2018autonomous decision making\u2019 by mandating medical procedures and disclosure of information regardless of the patient\u2019s needs and wishes,\u201d Como wrote.<\/p>\n<p>Kris Mayes, the state\u2019s Democratic attorney general, supported the plaintiffs.<\/p>\n<p>Two of Arizona\u2019s top legislative Republicans \u2014 House Speaker Steve Montenegro and Senate President Warren Petersen \u2014 intervened in the lawsuit in support of the restrictions, arguing that abortion rights advocates wanted to sweep away health and safety regulations in the name of the constitutional amendment.<\/p>\n<p>Peterson\u2019s office said the ruling will be appealed.<\/p>\n<p>In Arizona and many other states, abortion law has been in flux since the U.S. Supreme Court <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/roe-wade-dobbs-anniversary-abortion-states-cadff0d905d1c4d7b9825c8406aadffb\">overturned Roe v. Wade<\/a> in 2022 and cleared the way for states to ban abortion. Even after voters approved the abortion rights amendment, throwing out a 2022 law that banned abortion after 15 weeks\u2019 gestation, some older restrictions remained on the books.<\/p>\n<p>Two obstetricians and the Arizona Medical Association sued last year over the continued enforcement of the old laws. They said the voter-backed constitutional amendment guaranteed the \u201cfundamental right to abortion\u201d and specifically barred the state from enacting, adopting or enforcing a law that \u201cdenies, restricts or interferes with that right before fetal viability.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_1405300\"  class=\"wp-caption aligncenter size-article_inline\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" lazyautosizes lazyload\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Abortion_Lawsuit-Arizona_74124.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"FILE - Arizona abortion-rights supporters gather for a news conference prior to delivering over 800,000 petition signatures to the capitol to get abortion rights on the November general election ballot Wednesday, July 3, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo\/Ross D. Franklin, File)\" width=\"3600\" data-sizes=\"auto\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Abortion_Lawsuit-Arizona_74124.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1\" data-attachment-id=\"1405300\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Abortion_Lawsuit-Arizona_74124.jpg?fit=620%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 620w,https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Abortion_Lawsuit-Arizona_74124.jpg?fit=780%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 780w,https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Abortion_Lawsuit-Arizona_74124.jpg?fit=810%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 810w,https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Abortion_Lawsuit-Arizona_74124.jpg?fit=1280%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1280w,https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Abortion_Lawsuit-Arizona_74124.jpg?fit=1860%2C9999px&amp;ssl=1 1860w\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">FILE &#8211; Arizona abortion-rights supporters gather for a news conference prior to delivering over 800,000 petition signatures to the capitol to get abortion rights on the November general election ballot Wednesday, July 3, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo\/Ross D. Franklin, File)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cMy patients will no longer be forced to make additional unnecessary visits for care, nor will I be required to give them disinformation that stigmatizes abortion.\u201d Dr. Laura Mercer, an OB-GYN and member of the board at the Arizona Medical Association, said in a statement Friday.<\/p>\n<p>Ingrid Duran, the National Right to Life Committee\u2019s state legislative director, told The Associated Press on Friday that she\u2019s disappointed but not surprised by the ruling. She said the group intends to work on educating people in Arizona about its position to \u201cexpand our base into more pro-lifers who believe that the unborn child deserves protection.\u201d But she said the group doesn\u2019t expect the ruling to be overturned.<\/p>\n<p>Since Roe was overturned, voters in several states <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/abortion-ballot-measures-harris-trump-florida-missouri-49c9073cbb6056b66a8a7d0d099795d1\">have passed laws<\/a> allowing abortion, while voters in others have rejected such measures. Missouri voters <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/abortion-rights-missouri-ballot-measure-fa52c65a679621f313e6a2b34b1d9443\">will decide this year<\/a> whether to overturn a voter-backed amendment guaranteeing abortion rights.<\/p>\n<p><em>Mulvihill reported from Haddonfield, New Jersey.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Arizona&#8217;s Democratic attorney general supported the plaintiffs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":1405299,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[7867,22,27],"tags":[7601],"feature":[],"location":[],"type-of-work":[7197],"coauthors":[799],"class_list":["post-1405298","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national-politics","category-news","category-politics","tag-network","type-of-work-news"],"post_status":"","edit_last":0,"edit_lock":0,"highlights":"","original_byline":"","original_canonical":"","original_category":"","original_email":"","original_id":0,"original_pubdate":"","original_source":"","primary_section":"7867","primary_tag":0,"print_workflow_body":"","print_workflow_exported_ts":"","print_workflow_exported_username":"","print_workflow_shapes":"","print_workflow_side":"","really_short_title":"","short_title":"","syndication_source":{"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/2026\/02\/06\/old-arizona-abortion-restrictions","id":"cG9zdDoyNDUwMjg2","siteName":"Sharing Dash","syndicationSourceStack":[{"canonical":"https:\/\/www.ocregister.com\/2026\/02\/06\/old-arizona-abortion-restrictions","id":"cG9zdDoyNDUwMjg2","siteName":"Sharing Dash","sourceUrl":"https:\/\/sharingdash.medianewsgroup.com"}],"source_url":"https:\/\/sharingdash.medianewsgroup.com"},"market_neutral_title":"","social_title":"","dfm_hub_post_id":0,"paywall_level":"","featured_media_content":{"content_type":"image","content":{"id":1405299,"title":"Abortion_Lawsuit-Arizona_23644-1","filename":"Abortion_Lawsuit-Arizona_23644-1.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Abortion_Lawsuit-Arizona_23644-1.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/2026\/02\/06\/old-arizona-abortion-restrictions\/abortion_lawsuit-arizona_23644-1\/","alt":"","author":"14","description":"","caption":"FILE &#8211; Anti-abortion protesters gather for a news conference after Arizona abortion-rights supporters delivered more than 800,000 petition signatures to the state Capitol to get abortion rights on the November general election ballot, July 3, 2024, in Phoenix. 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The Southern California News Group is one of them. AP journalists in more than 100 countries tell the world\u2019s stories, from breaking news to investigative reporting to visual storytelling. Since 1846, AP has been covering the world\u2019s biggest news events, committed to the highest standards of objective, accurate journalism. Learn more about policies and standards in AP\u2019s Statement of News Values and Principles. https:\/\/www.ap.org\/about\/news-values-and-principles\/","first_name":"Associated","last_name":"press","user_nicename":"associated-press","user_login":"associated-press","user_email":"","type":"guest-author","linked_account":0,"website":"","twitter":"","facebook":"","google_plus":""}],"taxonomies":{"category":[{"term_id":7867,"name":"National Politics","slug":"national-politics","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":7867,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":27,"count":6325,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":22,"name":"News","slug":"news","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":22,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":50546,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":27,"name":"Politics","slug":"politics","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":27,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":22,"count":7235,"filter":"raw"}],"post_tag":[{"term_id":7601,"name":"Network","slug":"network","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":7601,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"Network","parent":0,"count":26679,"filter":"raw"}]},"featured_media_array":{"id":1405299,"title":"Abortion_Lawsuit-Arizona_23644-1","filename":"Abortion_Lawsuit-Arizona_23644-1.jpg","url":"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Abortion_Lawsuit-Arizona_23644-1.jpg","link":"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/2026\/02\/06\/old-arizona-abortion-restrictions\/abortion_lawsuit-arizona_23644-1\/","alt":"","author":"14","description":"","caption":"FILE &#8211; Anti-abortion protesters gather for a news conference after Arizona abortion-rights supporters delivered more than 800,000 petition signatures to the state Capitol to get abortion rights on the November general election ballot, July 3, 2024, in Phoenix. 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