NEWS FLASH

Appeals Court Temporarily Blocks Arizona 20-Week Abortion Ban | Just one day before it would go into effect, Arizona’s 20-week abortion ban has been temporarily blocked by a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals panel. A trial judge upheld HB 2036 on Monday. The appellate court will hold a hearing on the ban as soon as possible this fall. Called the most extreme ban in the nation, the law measures the gestational age of a fetus from the first day of the woman’s last period, technically prohibiting abortions after 18 weeks of pregnancy. It would have forced doctors to withhold care until a pregnancy posed an immediate threat of death or major medical damage. It also contains no exceptions for fatal fetal birth defects, giving women no choice but to carry to term a fetus with no chance of survival.