Policy

AZ Abortion Law Heads to Court

It's arguably the most restrictive regime in the country

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Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery will face off this morning against an attorney for the New York-based Center for Reproductive Rights in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco to defend Arizona's new law forbidding abortions past 20 weeks of gestation except in medical emergencies.

Three Arizona obstetrician-gynecologists challenged the law in federal court, and a U.S. District Court judge in Phoenix ruled that it was constitutional. The doctors appealed to the 9th Circuit, which will compel a ruling that will, in itself, become law and affect similar laws in other states.