Arizona governor signs executive order centralizing abortion prosecutions
Gabrielle M. Etzel
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Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-AZ) signed an executive order on Friday centralizing control of abortion-related prosecutions in Arizona under the state’s Attorney General Office, taking away authority previously held by the state’s 15 county attorneys.
Hobbs announced the executive order in time for the one-year anniversary of the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, which removed federal constitutional protections for abortion and made the controversial issue up for state legislation.
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“I will not allow extreme and out of touch politicians to get in the way of the fundamental rights of Arizonans,” Hobbs tweeted.
Arizona law enforcement agencies are instructed in the order not to use state resources to assist in investigations regarding abortion-seekers coming to Arizona from other states where the procedure is illegal. The governor’s office also will not assist in extraditions for abortion-related offenses if the procedure is performed legally in Arizona.
Current law in Arizona allows for abortions up to 15 weeks gestation, and physicians cannot be prosecuted for performing an abortion.
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona celebrated the measure and Hobbs for “continuing to hold to her commitment of being a Governor who would champion reproductive freedom,” but the group lamented the 15-week ban as too restrictive.
“[A]nti-abortion extremists continue to threaten our fundamental right to bodily autonomy — but today sets us on a promising and welcome path,” PPAA’s President and CEO Brittany Fonteno said.
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Hobbs’s order also establishes the Governor’s Advisory Council on Protecting Reproductive Freedom “to make recommendations that expand access to reproductive healthcare in Arizona.”
The Arizona executive order comes on the same day as President Joe Biden’s executive order demanding the Department of Health and Human Services and several other federal departments and agencies to develop guidance on expanding access to contraceptives via insurance mandates to lower out-of-pocket costs for consumers.