The Quickie: Abortion Access Restored in Arizona

Welcome to “The Quickie” — Planned Parenthood Action Fund’s daily tipsheet on the top health care & reproductive rights stories of the day. You can read “The Quickie'' online here.

ABORTION ACCESS RESTORED IN ARIZONA: On Friday, a three-judge panel of the Arizona Court of Appeals granted Planned Parenthood Arizona’s (PPAZ) request for an emergency stay of a previous court’s ruling lifting an injunction that allowed the state’s nearly 150-year-old abortion ban to take effect. The stay temporarily blocks enforcement of the ban while PPAZ’s appeal proceeds through the courts, allowing abortion care in the state to resume effective immediately. Abortion had been banned since September 23, when the lower court judge first lifted the injunction on the pre-Roe ban. A law banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy still remains in effect in Arizona.. 

“While today’s ruling brings temporary respite to Arizonans, the ongoing threat of this extreme, near-total abortion ban that has no regard for the health care of those across the state, including survivors of rape or incest remains very real,” Brittany Fonteno, President and CEO of PPAZ, said in a statement after the ruling. “For over 100 days, Arizonans have experienced pure chaos and confusion and it has been traumatic for our physicians and staff who have been forced to notify patients that they can no longer care for them. The court’s decision to issue a stay while the legal process continues to unfold will allow Planned Parenthood Arizona to resume abortion care services. Planned Parenthood Arizona is committed to defending reproductive freedom for all and continuing this fight until this 150-year-old law is taken off the books for good.”

View Planned Parenthood’s full statement here and read more at AP and Arizona Central. 

SIX-WEEK BAN REMAINS BLOCKED IN OHIO: The Hamilton County Court of Common Pleas announced on Friday that it will grant abortion providers’ and advocates’ request for a preliminary injunction (PI) against Senate Bill 23 (S.B. 23), a law banning abortion at approximately six weeks of pregnancy in Ohio. The court initially issued a temporary restraining order on September 14, which allowed abortions to be provided up to 22 weeks of pregnancy in the state. The PI indefinitely extends Ohioans ability to seek abortions while litigation continues on S.B. 23. 

“We are thrilled with this second major victory and relieved that patients in Ohio can continue to access abortion as we work to fight this unjust and dangerous ban in court,” the plaintiffs, including PPFA and Planned Parenthood Southwest and Greater Ohio affiliates, said in a statement. “We’ve already had a glimpse of the harm caused by Senate Bill 23 when it was in effect this summer, and we can’t go back. Ohioans deserve far better than the chaos and confusion that we’ve seen since the U.S. Supreme Court stripped us of our federal constitutional right to an abortion. We will continue to use every tool at our disposal to fight for and protect Ohioans’ rights as guaranteed by the Ohio Constitution.”

View Planned Parenthood’s full statement here and read more at AP and Ohio Capital Journal. 

ICYMI: PLANNED PARENTHOOD ACTION FUND MEMBERSHIP EVENT TURNS OUT HUNDREDS OF WISCONSINITES FOR ABORTION RIGHTS: On Saturday night, hundreds of Planned Parenthood Action Fund members rallied together in support of reproductive rights, along with special guests including Planned Parenthood Action Fund President Alexis McGill Johnson, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin President Tanya Atkinson, U.S. Senate candidate Mandela Barnes, Governor Tony Evers, Attorney General Josh Kaul, Lieutenant Governor candidate Sara Rodriguez, and Madeline Stone-Kutis, a Wisconsin abortion storyteller, among others. Throughout the event, they detailed what is at stake this election in Wisconsin and nationwide when it comes to protecting reproductive rights, including abortion access.

Planned Parenthood Action Fund President Alexis McGill Johnson in Middleton, WI at membership event.

(Photos: Ben Brewer courtesy of Planned Parenthood Action Fund)

In a new op-ed in the Milwaukee Courier Online, McGill Johnson explains why Wisconsin voters should support Mandela Barnes, noting “The contrast on this year’s ballot couldn’t be clearer: While Ron Johnson is compromising our bodies, our dignity, and our freedoms, Mandela Barnes is fighting hard to rebuild and protect our constitutional rights and ensure that our health care decisions are up to us.”

Read the op-ed here.