The GOP War on Women: Lawsuit to block Arizona’s most restrictive abortion law in the nation
Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
Earlier this year our Tea-Publican legislature pased the most restrictive abortion law in the nation. It bans abortions after 20 weeks, but has a unique provision for calculating the start of the 20 weeks from the date of the woman's last menstrual period. As critics pointed out at the time, this means that a woman could be deemed pregnant two weeks before having had sexual intercourse — talk about your miraculous conception!
On Thursday, the Center for Reproductive Rights and the ACLU sued on behalf of three doctors to halt the new law from going int effect in August. Lawsuit challenges Arizona abortion restrictions:
Three Arizona abortion providers went to federal court Thursday to try to block an Arizona law that bans most abortions beginning at 20 weeks.
They are seeking a preliminary injunction to stop the law before it takes effect Aug.2.
The suit alleges the legislation violates the protections outlined in the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe vs. Wade decision, which permits abortions before a fetus is viable. Medical experts and abortion clinics typically consider a fetus viable at 22 to 24 weeks. The suit states that the only exception to the new 20-week ban in the Arizona law is so narrow it "places significant burdens on the health of some women seeking abortion care."