Like Governor Katie Hobbs, Arizona Attorney General Katie Hobbs did not sugarcoat it when condemning the Arizona Supreme Court Handmaids Tale-reactionary ruling making the Pre Civil War abortion ban the law of the land.
Just after the ruling was announced by the State Supreme Court, the Attorney General posted on social media:
At an appearance at the State Capitol Rose Guardian with other leading advocates for Reproductive Freedom, including Arizona Democratic Party Chair Yolanda Bejarano, Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, and leading legislators Eva Burch and Stephanie Stahl Hamilton, Ms. Mayes called the ruling from the state high court “A stain on our state.”
Starting off by saying “Fighting for reproductive freedom is a cornerstone of my administration because the people of this state deserve to make their own private medical decisions without interference from the government or anti-abortion activists,” the Attorney General told the audience, “Make no mistake. By effectively striking down a law passed this century and replacing it with one from 160 years ago, the court has risked the health and lives of Arizonans…Today’s decision to reimpose a law from a time when Arizona wasn’t a state, the Civil War was still raging and women could not vote will go down in history as a stain on our state and on the Supreme Court.”
Calling it the “worst decision” the Arizona Supreme Court has made, the Attorney General said, “she looks forward to the people of Arizona having their say in the matter…As long as I am the Attorney General of the state of Arizona, no woman or doctor will be prosecuted under this draconian law…not be me nor by any county attorney serving in our state. Not on my watch.”
Like the Governor at an earlier event, she highlighted the measures her office has taken to protect reproductive freedom including establishing a reproductive rights unit in the office, fighting to preserve access to medication abortion, issuing data privacy guidelines, and supporting In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) treatment.
Mayes said “As long as I am Attorney General, I will fight like hell and my office will continue to do everything we can to protect and defend the fundamental rights of every Arizonan…We are looking at everything on the table available to us to fight this decision…and ensure it is never implemented in the state of Arizona.”
After appearing at the Capitol Rose Garden, Ms. Mayes made two posts on social media, including the below video statement where she advised that thanks to the State Supreme Court ruling “There are many unknowns for women seeking reproductive health care in our state right now but my office is here to provide as much clarity as possible as things progress.”
In the short statement, she advised that healthcare providers can still perform abortion services for a brief period (two weeks and perhaps six weeks more after that.)
In echoing remarks made earlier at the Rose Garden, Ms. Mayes said that her office and county attorneys would not prosecute any woman or doctor under this Civil War-era law.
The Attorney General closed by repeating her support for the pro-reproductive ballot initiative whose supporters are still gathering signatures and reaffirming her office’s commitment to look for any viable options to prevent the implementation of the Supreme Court decision and protect the reproductive freedom “of every single Arizonan.”
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Republicans find comfort in 1864…..wonderful.
And Alitio thinks the 1870’s Comstock Law is good enough to outlaw the delivery of the morning after pill.