Arizona repealed abortion ban: impact analysis

By Swapna Reddy, Arizona State University and Mary Saxon, Arizona State University Abortion rights supporters gather outside the Arizona Capitol building in Phoenix. AP Photo/Matt York When the Arizona Supreme Court ruled on April 9, 2024, that the state’s Civil War-era law banning nearly all abortions was enforceable, it brought into stark reality the potential impacts of leaving reproductive rights up to the states to regulate, and the related consequences for women’s health. The ruling, set to go into effect in late June 2024, will only remain active for a few months because Arizona lawmakers repealed the law on April 30. Starting in the fall, a previous state law banning abortion after 15 weeks will be reinstated. The rapidly changing legal landscape and conflicting information has fueled fear and confusion for women, families, hospitals, physicians and other health care providers, and had a chilling effect on abortion services. We are a health policy expert who studies how laws and policies affect health outcomes, especially for women and children, and a soon-to-be health care lawyer who is focused on health law and policy. After having studied how reproductive health care has been affected by the 2022 Dobbs decision that overturned Roe...