Are providers now banned from helping pregnant Arizonans get abortions in other states?

Arizona's extreme abortion ban could mean providers and even regular civilians are at the risk of prosecution for helping someone go out of state to obtain an abortion, though the language in the law is vague.

An 1864 near-total ban on abortion, which the Arizona Supreme Court decided to uphold this week, means Arizona now has one of the most punitive and restrictive abortion laws in the country.

While it's rare for states with restrictive abortion laws to prosecute people for aiding someone to get care across state lines, some jurisdictions have made efforts to do so. In one example, an Idaho woman and her son were charged with kidnapping in November after prosecutors say they took the son’s minor girlfriend to Oregon for an abortion, the Associated Press reported.

The text of Arizona's territorial-era law includes language that calls for prosecuting people who assist a pregnant person, with "intent thereby to procure the miscarriage" of a pregnant person, which could mean providers and others who help someone go out of state to get an abortion are breaking the law, but it's not entirely clear.

That language is arguably broad enough to apply to more than just physicians, Jennifer Piatt, co-director of the Center for Public Health Law and Policy at Arizona State University's Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, wrote in an email.

"I’m not sure to what extent prosecutors might attempt to extend it to civilians, but this is all up for debate and potential litigation in the coming months," Piatt wrote.

"There’s a good legal argument that it doesn’t apply to pregnant women, because of the prior statute criminalizing women getting abortions, which was repealed, but the breadth of this language might mean that many more folks are on the chopping block than just physicians."

Group plans to continue assisting people to get abortion care outside Arizona

Eloisa Lopez, who is executive director of Pro Choice Arizona and the Abortion Fund of Arizona, said she is feeling "pretty confident at the moment" about helping people go out of state to get abortion care.

"We're planning to continue operating the way we have been, helping people go out of state," Lopez told The Arizona Republic on Wednesday. "Even in Texas, they have 100 counties and I think there have been a handful that have tried to make restrictions on leaving the county for abortion care. ... But how do you track that activity?"

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes and Gov. Katie Hobbs, Lopez said, will ensure the rights of organizations such as hers to help others seek abortions outside of Arizona. If Arizona had a Republican governor and attorney general, the landscape under the near-total ban would be much different, she added.

Mayes said Tuesday that as long as she is attorney general, "no woman or doctor will be prosecuted under this draconian law in this state." And Hobbs has issued an executive order that removes county attorneys' ability to prosecute providers for performing abortions.

Lopez said it would be helpful if Mayes or Hobbs would issue a clear statement that organizations and community members who are helping people seek abortions will not be targeted under the law. But even without such a statement, the Abortion Fund of Arizona "is more prepared than ever" to ensure its helpline callers have the resources to cross state lines to access essential abortion care, she said.

'Each one of us has to determine what level of risk we're willing to assume'

Planned Parenthood Arizona officials said Tuesday they were still digesting the Supreme Court's decision and were unable to speculate on how an aggressive prosecutor might interpret the 1864 law. Officials did say they expect to ramp up a designated patient navigation service that helps patients get the care they need, including helping them go out of state.

The Desert Star Institute for Family Planning in Phoenix expects to continue offering abortions for the next two weeks. Beyond that, it's not clear what providers will be able to do in terms of abortions and in terms of helping people get abortions elsewhere if the near-total ban goes into effect in Arizona, said Dr. DeShawn Taylor, an obstetrician/gynecologist who is the CEO at Desert Star.

Taylor said her clinic is consulting with its legal advisers.

"My understanding of this law is although the person seeking the abortion is not criminalized, anyone who is helping them get an abortion is," Taylor said. "We have to now look at what the next version of our clinic will need to look like in order to be a resource to the community."

It's important for Desert Star, as an independent clinic, to remain open for the community because if it closes, it's unlikely to reopen, Taylor said.

Taylor does not want Arizona to be left with one fewer provider once abortion rights are restored, which she expects to happen, she said.

"I think that each one of us has to determine what level of risk we're willing to assume," Taylor said. "I've always erred on pushing myself to be as much of a resource to the community as possible while maintaining my freedom. So I think really important conversations need to happen in terms of what this all means."

Reach health care reporter Stephanie Innes at Stephanie.Innes@gannett.com or follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @stephanieinnes

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: AZ abortion law: Can providers help pregnant people cross state lines?