By Dave Andrusko

On Wednesday Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Donald Daughton refused to block the state Department of Health Services from enforcing regulations on abortion signed into law over a decade ago.

“Implementation of the 1999 law was delayed by a previous legal challenge that resulted in revisions to the originally proposed regulations,” according to Capitol Media Services. “The law was passed after a woman died following a botched abortion.”

Among other provisions, the regulations require that a licensed physician determine the baby’s gestational age, perform a physical examination before the abortion, and remain on site until all the women who have aborted are ready to leave.

In a separate lawsuit Planned Parenthood Arizona (PPAZ) challenged a 2009 law requiring that surgical abortions be performed only by physicians. That law is on hold while Daughton’s injunction against it is heard in the Court of Appeals.

PPAZ’s attorney, Eve Gartner, argued that the rules “amounted to an end run by the state around [the judge’s] 2009 order,” citing the shortage of abortionists, particularly in rural areas. “Gartner said requiring a doctor to perform the pre- and post-abortion procedures would have the same net effect as requiring a doctor to do the abortion itself: a delay in care for women.”

According to the Arizona Republic, it was unclear under the 1999 law who could perform a surgical abortion. “That led to Planned Parenthood allowing certified nurse practitioners to perform early-term abortions in which a fetus is vacuumed out of the womb,” which the Legislature responded to last year by requiring that “all surgical abortions be performed by a physician.” As noted above, the Court of Appeals is hearing Daughton's injunction against it.

On Wednesday Judge Daughton ruled that PPAZ had filed its lawsuit too late, pointing out that PPA did not file its legal papers until October 14. The rules are set to go into effect November 1.

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