Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has signed an executive order that effectively bars county attorney generals in the state from prosecuting abortion cases.
In her order, signed shortly before the first anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade, Hobbs gave centralized authority over the prosecution of abortions to the state’s Democratic attorney general.
“I will not allow extreme and out of touch politicians to get in the way of the fundamental rights of Arizonans,” Hobbs, a Democrat, said in a tweet Friday that features an image of her signing the order.
The order empowers state Attorney General Kris Mayes to “assume all duties” in prosecuting abortion-related cases, citing concerns that lingering questions about the application of Arizona’s abortion laws to specific cases could trigger “disparate decisions” from county attorneys on how to criminally prosecute conduct related to abortion care and have a “chilling effect” that ends up restricting or deterring lawful abortions.
The order, signed on Thursday, also aims to shield abortion providers from prosecution; bars state agencies from assisting abortion-related investigations; blocks extradition requests from other states seeking to prosecute individuals involved in seeking or providing abortion care; and establishes an advisory council tasked with making recommendations to expand reproductive health care in the state.
Mayes commented on the order in a statement Friday.
“We have seen that anti-abortion extremists will stop at nothing in their attempts to impose their radical beliefs on the rest of the country. I don’t accept that. We are on offense, and we will not let up,” Mayes said.
“Governor Hobbs centralized authority over abortion-related prosecutions in Arizona courts in the Attorney General’s office,” she added. “That means Arizonans can seek abortions and access reproductive health care — without interference or fear of criminal prosecution.”
The Arizona Court of Appeals last year held that licensed physicians who perform abortions through 15 weeks of gestation and in cases of a medical emergency cannot be prosecuted under the state’s near total abortion ban. That case is pending review before the Arizona Supreme Court.
Hobbs’ order was blasted by SBA Pro-Life America.
“Abortion is legal before 15 weeks in Arizona,” the organization said on Twitter. “But Katie Hobbs doesn’t think that’s enough, so she’s ordering the government to ignore the law.”
Arizona last year was one of numerous Republican-led states that restricted abortion access by restricting abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. Hobbs took office in January.
Brittany Fonteno, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona, applauded Hobbs’ order.
“This executive order will help ease the fear and uncertainty that swept through Arizona in the year since Roe was overturned, and protect all those seeking and providing necessary health care,” Fonteno said in a statement.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
