[JURIST] Arizona has appealed a district court ruling that granted an injunction to the enforcement of a public funding law [HB 2800, PDF] that would prohibit public funding from going to clinics that provide abortions, which would effectively defund Planned Parenthood Arizona [advocacy website]. Arizona is asking the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website] to lift the injunction [AP report] to ensure that no public funding is used to finance abortion. However, the US District Court for the District of Arizona [official website] granted the injunction because that the bill harms women who rely on Planned Parenthood facilities for care that doesn’t include abortions.

Arizona is currently facing multiple lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of recently passed abortion restrictions. The district court injunction was granted [JURIST report] in October. In September, a federal court issued an emergency injunction against an Arizona law that prohibits abortions after 20 weeks into a pregnancy except for in medical emergencies, which was challenged [JURIST reports] by the Center for Reproductive Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona [advocacy websites] in July. The law restricting funding to abortion clinics was signed by Governor Jan Brewer in May [Reuters report], while the law banning abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy was signed in April [JURIST report].