PHOENIX — It was business as usual for anti-abortion activists Thursday. Despite the state Supreme Court ruling this week that an 1864 abortion law was enforceable, groups have stood outside abortion clinics with signs and megaphones, trying to dissuade people from use the procedure.
Matt Engelthaler, 49, held a “Choose Life” sign outside the Camelback Planned Parenthood Center. Although it appears Tuesday is a victory for anti-abortion activists, he said, clinics can continue serving their patients for at least two weeks because the court stayed its ruling.
“That’s why we’re here, because even though we won in the Supreme Court, they’re probably going to try to stay open for at least the next couple of weeks,” he said of the clinic. “For us, any life lost to abortion is not acceptable. »
Arizona law of 1864 prohibited abortion at conception, with an exception to save the woman’s life. It made abortion a felony punishable by two to five years in prison for anyone who performed an abortion or helped a person obtain one. Tuesday’s ruling effectively overturns a lower court’s ruling that a recent 15-week ban superseded the law.
Reproductive rights advocates and supporters, like Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, have called the law “draconian” and argued that a 160-year-old policy has no place in the modern political landscape of State. But Lynn Dyer, 80, of the Life Choices women’s clinic, doesn’t see it that way. She said she was “delighted” when the decision was made.
“It doesn’t matter whether the law dates from 1860 or whatever. It could have been 300 years ago or 500 years from now. It’s always wrong to kill an innocent child,” Dyer said.
Seven kilometers away, at the Acacia Women’s Center, anti-abortion activists took a more aggressive approach. On the sidewalks, they posted large red signs with the name and face of Dr. Ronald Yunis, alleging that the doctor “kills 150 innocent babies here every month.” We spoke with a megaphone. Others ran towards cars and people entering the center, shouting at them not to enter and not to have an abortion.
James Baird, 39, said the state’s anti-abortion law should criminalize women without access to abortion who attempt to perform it on themselves.
“There is no penalization of women,” Baird lamented. “Women are free under the law to perform a home abortion without any repercussions from the law. We want the law to protect these babies just like the law protects you and me.
Tuesday’s ruling is the latest setback for abortion rights since the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022 overturned the landmark Roe v. Wade, who guaranteed a constitutional right to abortion for nearly half a century. Since then, nearly two dozen states have banned or severely restricted access to abortion, sparking a wave of legal challenges.
In the past, former President Donald Trump took credit for appointing the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade. On Monday, he said abortion decisions should be left to the states.
In the days following Tuesday’s ruling, reproductive rights groups and advocates protested across the state as abortion providers grappled with how to move forward. The state Supreme Court said Tuesday it would put its decision on hold for 14 days so a lower court can consider “additional constitutional challenges.” Reproductive rights advocates can appeal the decision within two weeks. Meanwhile, a separate, ongoing lawsuit would allow abortion providers to continue providing services through the 15th week of pregnancy through the end of May.