In Isaacson v. Brnovich, (D AZ, July 11, 2022), an Arizona federal district court issued a preliminary injunction barring the application of Arizona's "Interpretation Policy" to abortion care that is otherwise permissible under Arizona law. At issue is an Arizona statute that provides:
The laws of this state shall be interpreted and construed to acknowledge, on behalf of an unborn child at every stage of development, all rights, privileges and immunities available to other persons, citizens and residents of this state....
The court said in part:
The Interpretation Policy is intolerably vague because it is entirely unclear what it means to construe and interpret Arizona law to “acknowledge” the equal rights of the unborn.....
Because of the indeterminate meaning and applicability of the Interpretation Policy, abortion providers do not have fair notice of whether, if they conform their conduct to these laws, they nonetheless may face criminal, civil, or professional liability under other statutes based solely on what licensing, law enforcement, or judicial officials think it means to “acknowledge” the equal rights of the unborn.
Courthouse News Service reports on the decision.
