Judge strikes down old Arizona abortion restrictions that clash with
voter-backed guarantees
[February 07, 2026]
By GEOFF MULVIHILL and SEJAL GOVINDARAO
PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona must stop enforcing abortion restrictions that
predate and contradict a 2024 voter-approved constitutional amendment
guaranteeing abortion rights, a judge ordered in a ruling released
Friday.
Maricopa Superior Court Judge Greg Como found that the older laws
present unnecessary obstacles to getting an abortion, including barring
one if a woman was seeking it because the fetus had a non-fatal genetic
abnormality, and requiring patients to see a doctor twice, at least 24
hours apart, before obtaining one.
He also took issue with the laws because they required abortion seekers
to undergo ultrasounds and Rh blood testing, and barred doctors from
prescribing abortion pills by telehealth and mailing them to patients.
Pills are the most common way abortion is obtained.
“Each of these laws infringe on a woman’s ‘autonomous decision making’
by mandating medical procedures and disclosure of information regardless
of the patient’s needs and wishes,” Como wrote.
Kris Mayes, the state’s Democratic attorney general, supported the
plaintiffs.
Two of Arizona’s top legislative Republicans — House Speaker Steve
Montenegro and Senate President Warren Petersen — intervened in the
lawsuit in support of the restrictions, arguing that abortion rights
advocates wanted to sweep away health and safety regulations in the name
of the constitutional amendment.
Peterson’s office said the ruling will be appealed.
In Arizona and many other states, abortion law has been in flux since
the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 and cleared the
way for states to ban abortion. Even after voters approved the abortion
rights amendment, throwing out a 2022 law that banned abortion after 15
weeks' gestation, some older restrictions remained on the books.
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Arizona abortion-rights supporters gather for a news conference
prior to delivering over 800,000 petition signatures to the capitol
to get abortion rights on the November general election ballot
Wednesday, July 3, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin,
File)
Two obstetricians and the Arizona Medical Association sued last year
over the continued enforcement of the old laws. They said the
voter-backed constitutional amendment guaranteed the “fundamental right
to abortion" and specifically barred the state from enacting, adopting
or enforcing a law that “denies, restricts or interferes with that right
before fetal viability."
“My patients will no longer be forced to make additional unnecessary
visits for care, nor will I be required to give them disinformation that
stigmatizes abortion.” Dr. Laura Mercer, an OB-GYN and member of the
board at the Arizona Medical Association, said in a statement Friday.
Ingrid Duran, the National Right to Life Committee's state legislative
director, told The Associated Press on Friday that she's disappointed
but not surprised by the ruling. She said the group intends to work on
educating people in Arizona about its position to “expand our base into
more pro-lifers who believe that the unborn child deserves protection."
But she said the group doesn't expect the ruling to be overturned.
Since Roe was overturned, voters in several states have passed laws
allowing abortion, while voters in others have rejected such measures.
Missouri voters will decide this year whether to overturn a voter-backed
amendment guaranteeing abortion rights.
___
Mulvihill reported from Haddonfield, New Jersey.
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