U.S. appeals court blocks Arizona's 20-week abortion ban

A federal appeals court on Wednesday blocked an Arizona law banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy as it considers the case. The law was upheld by a trial judge Monday and was set to take effect Thursday.

Politico: Court Blocks Arizona 20-Week Abortion Ban From Taking Effect
The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday issued a preliminary injunction that will block an Arizona law banning abortion after 20 weeks from going into effect this week. Responding to an emergency appeal filed by the Center for Reproductive Rights and the ACLU after a federal district court judge upheld the law on Monday, the circuit court Wednesday temporarily blocked the law from being implemented on Aug. 2 while the court considers the case against it (Smith, 8/1).

The Associated Press: U.S. appeals court blocks Ariz. 20-week abortion ban
A federal appeals court on Wednesday temporarily prohibited Arizona from enforcing its new ban on most abortions starting at 20 weeks of pregnancy. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued its order two days after a trial judge ruled that the ban could take effect Thursday as scheduled (Davenport, 8/1).

Reuters: U.S. Appeals Court Blocks Arizona's New Late-Term Abortion Ban
A federal appeals court blocked Arizona on Wednesday from enforcing a new state ban on most late-term abortions that opponents say is the toughest in the nation, and agreed to an expedited review of the controversial measure. A three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued the injunction two days after a federal judge upheld the ban and threw out a lawsuit brought against the Republican-backed law, which was due to go into effect on Thursday (Schwartz, 8/1).

Arizona Republic: Appeals Court Blocks Arizona's 20-Week Abortion Ban
The Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals granted a preliminary injunction Wednesday blocking implementation of Arizona's new law that bans abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The law was to take effect today. With the injunction in place, the restrictions in the Mother's Health and Safety Act cannot be enforced until the San Francisco-based appeals court hears the case, likely in late October or early November, and issues a ruling (Pitzl, 8/1).

Bloomberg: Arizona Law Criminalizing Some Abortions Blocked for Now
An Arizona law that makes it a crime for doctors to perform abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy was blocked from taking effect today by the U.S. Court of Appeals in San Francisco while a lower-court order is appealed. The appeals court ruled on a so-called emergency request to halt the law from three doctors who lost a lawsuit alleging the rule was preempted by the U.S. Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. A federal judge in Phoenix upheld the statute July 30, ruling that Arizona showed credible evidence that an unborn child may feel pain during such procedures (Gullo and Harris, 8/2).

CNN: Federal Court Blocks Arizona Abortion Law
The law was scheduled to go into effect Thursday, and a federal judge in Phoenix earlier this week had allowed it to go into effect. That prompted an emergency request for "injunctive relief" to the appeals court by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights, on behalf of three patients and their physicians. Those groups said in their successful emergency appeal the ban would force doctors to wait until a woman with a high-risk pregnancy was close to death or would suffer major medical damage before terminating a high-risk pregnancy (Mears, 8/1).