PHOENIX â The Arizona Supreme Court announced Wednesday that it will review an appellate courtâs ruling in Planned Parenthood of Arizona v. Mayes. The lower courtâs ruling rewrote the stateâs pro-life law and thwarted the Arizona Legislatureâs intent. It also entered an injunction that halted the law from taking effect.
In the case, Alliance Defending Freedom [ADF] attorneys representing Dr. Eric Hazelrigg, an obstetrician and medical director of Choices Pregnancy Center in Arizona, filed a petition in March asking the stateâs high court to review the lower courtâs ruling, which it agreed to do.
âArizona women deserve the dignity and respect that comes from receiving life-affirming health care and supportânot the abortion industryâs false choice between doing whatâs best for the mother and protecting the life of her child,â said ADF Senior Counsel Denise Harle, director of the ADF Center for Life. âWe urge the Arizona Supreme Court to allow the stateâs pro-life law to take effect and protect the lives of countless innocent, unborn children.â
In September 2022, the Arizona Superior Court in Pima County appointed Hazelrigg as the guardian ad litem to legally represent the best interests of unborn children in Arizona. The court also ruled that after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe, the state is free to protect the lives of unborn children and the health and safety of mothers by enforcing its pre-Roe v. Wade law.
ADF attorneys argued for that result in a brief filed in August 2022, asking the court to grant then Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovichâs request to lift a nearly 50-year-old injunction against the stateâs pro-life law, which the court had previously blocked based on Roe.
In May, a number of pro-life advocacy groups, Arizona state legislators, and 17 states united in support of protecting unborn lives and womenâs health by filing friend-of-the-court briefs with the Arizona Supreme Court.
