Second Court Victory for Arizona Women In Two Days: District Court Continues to Block Arizona Law That Would Force Doctors to Lie to Women

PRESS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Phoenix, AZ —A federal district court judge today continued to block an Arizona law that forces doctors to mislead patients by telling them that it may be possible to “reverse” a medication abortion.  The order comes less than a week before a scheduled trial on the measure, which has been postponed.  As part of the State's request to postpone the trial, it cited the fact that “its primary expert” lacked the "publication and research background and experience" to be qualified as an expert witness.  Therefore, the Court instead granted a preliminary injunction continuing to block the law as the lawsuit continues.

This is the second time Arizona has agreed to put the measure on hold while the case continues.  After the case was filed in June 2015, the state agreed to temporarily block the law a few weeks later.

Because there is no credible, medically accepted evidence that a medication abortion can be reversed, this law is opposed by medical experts, including the American Medical Association (AMA) and American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). Dr. Ilana Addis and Dr. Julie Kwatra, chairwoman and legislative chair of the Arizona Section of ACOG respectively, called the Arizona law “bad medicine” and “tantamount to quackery.” If it goes into effect, this law would force doctors to provide all patients seeking a safe, legal abortion — even patients who cannot have a medication abortion or who have chosen a surgical procedure — with medically inaccurate and misleading information that could be harmful to their health.

This is the second court victory for Arizona women in two days. Late yesterday, a state court judge permanently blocked a 2012 Arizona law that would severely limit women’s access to medication abortion, an extremely safe method of ending a pregnancy in its earliest stages. 

 “This junk science law would force doctors to lie to their patients and put women’s health at risk. In no other area of medicine would this stand. It’s clear that politicians will stop at nothing to insert government and bad medicine into every exam room in Arizona — and we will fight back on behalf of our patients every step of the way,” said Bryan Howard, President of Planned Parenthood Arizona. “

Women in Arizona have been safely and legally using medication abortion for over a decade, with approximately one half who make the decision to end a pregnancy choosing this method if they’re eligible.

The plaintiffs in this case — Planned Parenthood Arizona, Eric Reuss, M.D., Paul A. Isaacson, M.D., Desert Star Family Planning, and DeShawn Taylor, M.D. — are represented by attorneys from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the ACLU of Arizona, the Center for Reproductive Rights, Planned Parenthood Federation of America (PFFA), and Squire Patton Boggs.

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In the community for over 80 years, Planned Parenthood Arizona is the leading sexual health organization in Arizona. The organization provides health care, education and outreach services to more than 90,000 men, women, teens and parents annually. Planned Parenthood Arizona operates health center locations statewide. For more information, please visit www.ppaz.org.