AZ Right to Life: Federal & state courts at odds over new AZ laws

Arizona Right to Life Monday, October 5, 2009

Federal and state court rulings conflict on new AZ abortion laws Phoenix, AZ - Oct. 5, 2009--After pro-abortion groups filed lawsuits in both state and federal courts seeking an injuction against recently passed AZ laws protecting women, parents, and the conscience of healthcare workers, the two courts delivered opposite rulings. Federal court Judge David Campbell refused to grant an injunction, citing the 1992 Supreme Court casePlanned Parenthood v. Casey: “In Casey, the Supreme Court held that a 24-hour waiting period substantially identical to the Arizona provision did not impose an undue burden on the right to obtain an abortion,” and in addition, Campbell wrote, “Casey held that States may require that women be fully informed of the nature and consequences of their abortions, and may even advocate for childbirth over abortion.” But at the state level, Maricopa County Judge Donald Daughton, who according to FEC records donated $1250 to known pro-abortion candidates Barack Obama and Congessman Harry Mitchell, was called out of retirement to rule in favor of the nation’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, who challenged the laws’ constitutionality. The ruling offers no qualitative reasons for granting the injunction (Full text of Daughton ruling). Arizona Right to Life President Jinny Perron questioned the validity of the Daughton ruling. “These laws were thoroughly vetted for constitutionality over several years by attorneys at Alliance Defense Fund, Bioethics Defense Fund, Center for Arizona Policy, and here at Arizona Right to Life,” said Perron, “so why was this high-profile case assigned to a retired judge tasked with interpreting the Arizona Constitution and issuing a ruling the day before the law was supposed to take effect?” ###

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