Global Courant
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs signed an executive order on June 22, 2023 authorizing AG Kris Mayes to handle any attempted prosecution under the state’s abortion laws. Lawyers from 12 of the state’s 15 counties are asking the governor to rescind the order, but a Hobbs spokesperson said she will not withdraw it. A spokesperson for the governor claimed that “Governor Hobbs will never stop fighting for reproductive freedoms in Arizona.”
Twelve of Arizona’s 15 district attorneys are calling on Gov. Katie Hobbs to rescind its recent executive order restricting them from prosecuting abortion-related cases.
“The office of the governor should not interfere with the discretion of prosecutors in the discharge of their duties as elected officials,” the lawyers’ letter sent to Hobbs late Monday said. “Whether this was the intended purpose, the result is an unnecessary and unwarranted encroachment on the duties and obligations of elected Arizona attorneys.”
Governor spokesman Christian Slater said the governor will not rescind the order.
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“Governor Hobbs will never stop fighting for reproductive freedoms in Arizona,” Slater said in a statement. “She will continue to use her lawful executive power to put sanity over chaos and protect ordinary Arizona residents from extremists who threaten to sue women and doctors for reproductive health care.”
Democratic Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs delivers her State of the State Address in Phoenix, Arizona on January 9, 2023. (AP photo/Ross D. Franklin, file)
Hobbs’ order signed June 22 gives State Attorney General Kris Mayes the authority to handle any attempted prosecution by the county under the state’s abortion laws, prohibits state agencies from assisting with investigations of alleged violations in other states and prohibits extradition of people accused of violating abortion laws in other states.
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“This executive order results in an exercise of authority not vested in the office of the governor. To suggest that the governor can strip prosecution discretion from local, elected officials is a significant oversight,” wrote Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell in a letter to Hobbs.
Mitchell is a Republican, while Hobbs and Mayes are Democrats.
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Abortions are currently allowed in Arizona in the first 15 weeks of pregnancy under a 2022 law. Last year, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled that abortion doctors cannot be prosecuted under an 1864 law that criminalizes nearly all abortions. That pre-statehood law had been barred from enforcement for decades because of Roe v. Wade.
