Arizona’s high court is allowing the attorney general 90 more days on his abortion ban strategy

PHOENIX — Arizona’s highest court on Monday gave the state’s attorney general another 90 days to decide further legal action in the case over a 160-year-old near-total abortion ban that lawmakers recently voted to repeal.

The Arizona Supreme Court’s order leaves in effect for now a more recent law that legalizes abortion up to 15 weeks of pregnancy. It also gives Attorney General Kris Mayes more time to decide whether to take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Mayes expressed gratitude for the order and said that the earliest the 1864 law can go into effect is September 26, counting the 90 days we just granted, plus another 45 days stipulated in a separate case.

“I will do everything I can to ensure that doctors can provide medical care to their patients according to their best judgment and not the beliefs of the men elected to the territorial legislature 160 years ago,” Mayes said.

The Arizona Supreme Court voted in April to restore the older law that provided no exceptions for rape or incest and only allows abortion if the mother’s life is in danger. The majority opinion suggested that the doctors could be prosecuted and sentenced to up to five years in prison if convicted.

The Legislature then voted by a narrow margin to repeal the Civil War-era law, but the repeal won’t take effect until 90 days after lawmakers end their current annual session. It is unclear whether there would be a period in which the older ban could be enforced before repeal would occur.

The anti-abortion group advocating the ban, Alliance Defending Freedom, said it would continue fighting despite the latest delay.

“Arizona’s pro-life law has protected unborn children for more than 100 years,” said the group’s senior advisor, Jake Warner. “We will continue working to protect unborn children and promote real support and health care for Arizona families.”

Planned Parenthood Arizona CEO Angela Florez welcomed the change. She said the organization “will continue to provide abortion care through 15 weeks of pregnancy and we remain focused on ensuring patients have access to abortion care for as long as legally possible.”