Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) signed an executive order on Friday that effectively stops county attorney generals in the state from prosecuting abortion cases.
The order strips the power of Arizona's 15 county attorney generals from prosecuting any abortion-related crimes. The order gives Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, sole discretion "over criminal prosecutions of medical providers, other entities, or individuals for violations of Arizona's abortion statutes," Axios reported.
Hobbs' order also took additional steps to protect abortion rights in Arizona, including barring state agencies from assisting with criminal abortion investigations, as well as the blocking of extraditions to other states for abortion violations that wouldn't be illegal in Arizona. Hobbs also established a Council on Protecting Reproductive Freedom to "expand access to sexual and reproductive freedom health care in Arizona."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"I will not allow extreme and out-of-touch politicians to get in the way of the fundamental rights of Arizonans," Hobbs wrote in a tweet announcing the order. She added that the consolidation of prosecuting powers under Mayes will help to "ensure differences in application of the law by county attorneys do not restrict access to legal abortions."
Mayes released a statement saying that "Arizona has leaders that are committed to clarity and sanity." She added 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."
The order was signed nearly a year to the day after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, bringing the issue of abortion rights back to individual states. It comes as pro-choice activists continue to campaign for additional protections in Arizona. A state appeals court overturned an abortion ban throughout Arizona in December 2022, in a case that also protects doctors who perform abortions. The case is pending before the Arizona Supreme Court.
-
‘Paper Girl: A Memoir of Home and Family in a Fractured America’ and ‘Unabridged: The Thrill of (and Threat to) the Modern Dictionary’feature The culture divide in small-town Ohio and how the internet usurped dictionaries
-
How will tariffs affect shopping this holiday season?the explainer Prices may not be so holly jolly this year
-
Newsom slams Trump’s climate denial at COP30speed read Trump, who has called climate change a ‘hoax,’ declined to send any officials to this week’s summit
-
Newsom slams Trump’s climate denial at COP30
speed read Trump, who has called climate change a ‘hoax,’ declined to send any officials to this week’s summit
-
UK, Colombia halt intel to US over boat attacksSpeed Read Both countries have suspended intelligence sharing with the US over the bombing of civilian boats suspected of drug smuggling
-
Trump pardons 2020 fake electors, other GOP alliesSpeed Read The president pardoned Rudy Giuliani and more who tried to overturn his 2020 election loss
-
Supreme Court to decide on mail-in ballot limitsSpeed Read The court will determine whether states can count mail-in ballots received after Election Day
-
Democrats split as Senate votes to end shutdownSpeed Read The proposed deal does not extend Affordable Care Act subsidies, the Democrats’ main demand
-
USDA orders states to ‘undo’ full SNAP paymentsSpeed Read The Trump administration is telling states not to pay full November food stamp benefits
-
Senate takes first step to end record shutdownSpeed Read Eight senators in the Democratic caucus voted with Republicans to advance legislation to reopen the government
-
Senate votes to kill Trump’s Brazil tariffSpeed Read Five Senate Republicans joined the Democrats in rebuking Trump’s import tax
