A United States District Court judge has refused to block the implementation of new abortion regulations in Arizona.
Judge David C. Bury decided Monday to not temporarily block new regulations for the Arizona Department of Health Services based on HB 2036, which was signed into law by Republican Gov. Jan Brewer in 2012.
The regulations that took effect on Tuesday require abortionists to adhere to FDA guidelines for prescribing and dispensing abortion-inducing drugs, such as RU486. Such measures ban the use of abortion-inducing drugs after the seventh week of pregnancy.
Attorneys for Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers claim that requiring abortionists to follow the FDA’s guidelines will harm women, because they will no longer be able to prescribe these drugs through the ninth week of pregnancy.
“Whether or not these factors are substantial obstacles to abortion remains to be seen, but based on the limited record before the Court they do not qualify as irreparable harm,” ruled Bury.
The Arizona chapter of Planned Parenthood and the Center for Reproductive Rights had sued the state over the new regulations and are planning to file an appeal with the Ninth Circuit Court.
