Abortion providers in Arizona faced chaos and confusion after the state’s highest court on Tuesday ruled that a 160-year-old abortion ban is enforceable, throwing abortion access into question. Dr. DeShawn Taylor, founder and president of the Phoenix-based Desert Star Institute for Family Planning, said she was initially unsure how quickly the change could go into effect, so she rushed her staff to call seven patients with appointments on Tuesday to ask them to come in earlier in the day.
Ronald Yunis, of the Acacia Women’s Center in Phoenix, said his clinic plans to continue performing abortions “until the attorneys say it can’t be done.” “We have primarily Spanish-speaking patients. They are going to be harmed massively,” he said. “It’s a war on the most vulnerable.” Many questions remain about the future of abortion access in Arizona. Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, called on the state’s GOP-controlled Legislature to repeal the 1864 law.