Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search

In It to Win It

(8,143 posts)
Sat Dec 31, 2022, 01:49 AM Dec 2022

Court: Abortion doctors can't be charged under Arizona law

AP News via Yahoo News


PHOENIX (AP) — An Arizona court has ruled that abortion doctors cannot be prosecuted under a pre-statehood law that criminalizes nearly all abortions yet was barred from being enforced for decades.

But the Arizona Court of Appeals on Friday declined to repeal the 1864 law, which carries a sentence of two to five years in prison for anyone who assists in an abortion and provides no exceptions for rape or incest.

Still, the court said doctors can’t be prosecuted for performing abortions in the first 15 weeks of pregnancy because other Arizona laws passed over the years allow them to perform the procedure, though non-doctors are still subject to be charged under the old law.

“The statutes, read together, make clear that physicians are permitted to perform abortions as regulated” by other abortion laws, the appeals court wrote.

The pre-statehood law, which allows abortions only if a patient’s life is in jeopardy, had been blocked from being enforced shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court issued its 1973 Roe v. Wade decision guaranteeing women a constitutional right to an abortion.
3 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Court: Abortion doctors can't be charged under Arizona law (Original Post) In It to Win It Dec 2022 OP
If The Court won't repeal a pre-state law, but won't enforce it, no_hypocrisy Dec 2022 #1
The use of the word "repeal" in the article confused me In It to Win It Dec 2022 #2
Thanks to the Subversive 6, we will have to claw our way back from 1864 to 1973. Hermit-The-Prog Dec 2022 #3

no_hypocrisy

(45,774 posts)
1. If The Court won't repeal a pre-state law, but won't enforce it,
Sat Dec 31, 2022, 08:26 AM
Dec 2022

isn't that a contradiction? (Not that I want them to enforce it . . . . . )

In It to Win It

(8,143 posts)
2. The use of the word "repeal" in the article confused me
Sat Dec 31, 2022, 08:52 AM
Dec 2022

Because courts do not repeal laws.

I wondered why the word “repeal” was even in this article. Courts can decide that a law is unenforceable but a law cannot be “repealed” by a court. Repealing is a function of the legislature.

Latest Discussions»General Discussion»Court: Abortion doctors c...