Reproductive Health Update – Arizona Supreme Court’s Abortion Ruling

On April 9, the Arizona Supreme Court, in its Planned Parenthood Arizona, Inc. v. Hayes decision, upheld a state law dating back to 1864, which makes it a felony to perform, or even help a woman obtain, an abortion at any time following conception. The one exception is if the procedure is to save the pregnant woman’s life. Despite the Court’s decision, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has vowed that she will not enforce the abortion ban. Fervent reaction to the Arizona decision quickly made its way up to President Joe Biden, who decreed Arizona’s abortion law as “cruel” and an affront to women’s reproductive rights.

SCOTUS EMTALA Oral Arguments. This week, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in Idaho v. United States and Moyle v. United States, cases asking whether the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) preempts, under certain emergency circumstances, an Idaho law banning most abortions. The Idaho argument is April 24 at 10 am ET, with an expected ruling by the end of the Supreme Court’s term in June.  Read more about these cases here.