Phoenix, AZ - Today, Governor Katie Hobbs sent a letter to Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell standing by her Executive Order protecting Arizona women and doctors from abortion prosecutions. 

“I issued this Order, in an effort to provide consistency—and assurance to patients, providers, and the people of Arizona—on a critical issue of personal freedom and well-being,” said Governor Hobbs. “The Order was not motivated by any desire to interfere with the discretion of prosecutors in fulfilling their duties. Instead, it was a lawful exercise of gubernatorial discretion to ensure equal protection and equal access to reproductive healthcare statewide.”

Through the Executive Order, the Governor is using her legal authority, including authority the legislature expressly granted through A.R.S. § 41-193(A)(2). That includes: 

1. Using executive authority to centralize all abortion-related prosecutions under the Attorney General to ensure differences in the application of the law by county attorneys do not restrict access to legal abortions. 

2. Directing state agencies not to assist in any investigations relating to providing, assisting, seeking or obtaining reproductive health care that would be legal in Arizona.

3. Declining extradition requests from other states seeking to prosecute individuals who provide, assist, seek or receive abortion services legal in Arizona moving forward. 

4. The establishment of the Governor’s Advisory Council on Protecting Reproductive Freedom to make recommendations that expand access to reproductive healthcare in Arizona.

Read the full letter HERE.