and who asked them to rule again today regarding this, did someone ask them to
Former Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich right after Roe v Wade went down.
and who asked them to rule again today regarding this, did someone ask them to
Yes, courts only rule on what is asked of them. In this case, it appears to be Arizona Republican politicians as noted below.
US Supreme Court ruling paved way for return of 1864 law
The abortion ban first codified in Arizona law in 1864 has been sitting on the books for 160 years.
First appearing in the 1864 Howell Code, a book of laws compiled by Arizona’s First Territorial Legislature, the state’s abortion ban was similar to those in many states. It was enforced vigorously in Arizona until the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973.
For almost 50 years, legal abortions were considered a fact of American life, until the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling in June 2022 that removed the Roe protections.
The ruling by the new, more conservative U.S. Supreme Court, spurred Arizona Republican politicians to ask the courts to lift the injunction from 1973 and allow police and prosecutors to enforce the 1864 law. The new court action had the effect of renewing Planned Parenthood’s 1971 legal fight.
The Arizona Supreme Court recognized all that was unsettled in implementing its 14-day stay before the 1864 law can be enforced. That window allows any legal challenges that were started in 1971, but essentially put on hold because of Roe v. Wade, to be pursued again now, over 50 years later.
Mayes said her office was weighing its response. The state’s top court sent the case back to the original superior court to consider the possibility of further action.
“My office is, as we speak, discussing what our next steps are, whether that is appealing this decision to the United States Supreme Court, whether that is taking ... the constitutional questions that remain, back down to the Superior Court,” Mayes said.