Pima County judge rejects Planned Parenthood’s request to pause statewide abortion ban

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — The latest attempt to put Arizona’s pre-statehood law that bans nearly all abortions has failed. Pima County Superior Court Judge Kellie Johnson denied a request on Friday from Planned Parenthood Arizona to put the 1901 law on hold while groups appeal the law. In the ruling, Johnson said to put a law on hold pending an appeal, it has to pass a four-factor test, which includes a strong likelihood that it would be appealed. “The Court finds that PPAZ has not demonstrated probable success on the merits of its appeal,” Johnson said. She also said Planned Parenthood didn’t prove denying the stay would cause irreparable harm.

Officials with Planned Parenthood were outraged with Johnson’s Friday decision. “For nearly 100 days, Arizonans have experienced pure chaos and confusion and it has been devastating for our physicians and staff who have been forced to notify patients that they can no longer care for them, and traumatic for our patients who have been forced to flee the state to receive basic health care,” Brittany Fonteno, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood, said in a statement. “The fight to restore abortion access to Arizonans is far from over as we will continue to appeal the court’s ruling.”

PPAZ filed its motion on Monday and said there was confusion between the pre-statehood law that banned all abortions except if the mother’s life was in danger and a 15-week ban that was passed this year. A week ago, Johnson reinstated the 1901 law that was on hold after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision guaranteed a right to abortion in 1973.

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