Hobbs urges abortion access as Arizona Supreme Court set to consider ban from 1860s
Gov. Katie Hobbs is weighing in on the ongoing legal battle over abortion rights in Arizona. Hobbs on Wednesday filed an amicus brief to the state Supreme Court in support of broader access to abortion.
Abortion is currently legal up to 15 weeks of gestation in Arizona. But in December, the state Supreme Court will consider whether Arizona should enforce a law dating back to the 1860s that would ban almost all abortions in the state.
Hobbs wants the conservative-majority court to know she thinks enforcing the near-total ban would put Arizonans at risk. In the amicus brief, Hobbs’ attorneys list examples of several Arizona women who recently ended pregnancies. The attorneys argue the women's safety and wellbeing would have been jeopardized had they not been able to access abortion.
The brief points out that, whatever the court decides, Arizona voters may have the chance to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution if the issue makes it onto ballots in 2024.
