WHO: ADF-allied attorney Deborah Sheasby, legal counsel with the Center for Arizona Policy

WHAT: Available for media interviews following hearing in Planned Parenthood Arizona v. Goddard

WHEN: Friday, Feb. 5 at 1:30 p.m. MST

WHERE: 125 West Washington St., Old Courthouse, Room 309, Phoenix, AZ

PHOENIX — Deborah Sheasby, legal counsel with the Center for Arizona Policy and an Alliance Defense Fund allied attorney, will be available for media interviews following a hearing Friday in a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood that seeks to strike down two Arizona laws protecting the health and safety of women. The court granted ADF and CAP permission to file a friend-of-the-court brief in the case, but they are appealing the court’s decision to deny doctors, several organizations, and the bill’s sponsors the ability to intervene in the lawsuit to defend the laws. Friday’s hearing concerns the state’s motion to dismiss a portion of the lawsuit as well as a motion to intervene filed by the Arizona speaker of the House, who also wishes to defend the laws.

“Everyone deserves full and accurate information before undergoing any medical procedure,” said Sheasby.  “These types of protections have been repeatedly upheld and are overwhelmingly supported by the public.”

“If Planned Parenthood really cared about women’s rights, they’d support laws that allow women to make fully informed choices instead of challenging these laws in court,” said ADF Senior Legal Counsel Steven H. Aden.  “Planned Parenthood’s suit is more about protecting its ‘bottom line’ than women’s rights.”

In September, the Arizona Superior Court for Maricopa County granted Planned Parenthood’s preliminary injunction to block the laws while the lawsuit, Planned Parenthood Arizona v. Goddard, moves forward. In a separate federal lawsuit, ADF and CAP attorneys, together with co-counsel from the Bioethics Defense Fund, successfully intervened on behalf of the Crisis Pregnancy Centers of Greater Phoenix and the Arizona Catholic Conference to defend provisions of the law being challenged by a Tucson abortion clinic.

The laws passed by the state legislature prohibit non-physicians from performing surgical abortions, provide for women to receive full and accurate information at least 24 hours before an abortion, protect health care workers who object to performing or facilitating abortions, and require notarized parental consent for minors seeking abortions.  The legislation also ensures that women receive information on abortion alternatives, long-term medical risks, and the probable gestational age of the preborn child at the time of the requested abortion.

The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly upheld 24-hour waiting periods.  In a Harris poll, 88 percent of adults said they support laws which require abortion providers to inform mothers of possible health risks and of abortion alternatives, 95 percent favor laws ensuring that abortions be performed only by licensed physicians, and 73 percent support laws requiring parental involvement in a minor’s abortion.  An additional poll found that 87 percent of Americans believe health care workers should not be forced to participate in abortions.