Federal court rules abortionists can sue Arizona to overturn eugenics law

A federal appeals court has ruled that a group of abortionists can move forward with a lawsuit challenging a law that protects preborn children with disabilities from eugenics-based abortions.

Arizona Senate Bill 1457 was signed in 2021, and prohibits abortions from being carried out on children solely because they test positive for a genetic condition such as Down syndrome, as well as due to race or gender. A lawsuit was filed almost immediately by The Center for Reproductive Rights and the American Civil Liberties Union, on behalf of the National Council of Jewish Women (Arizona Section), the Arizona National Organization for Women, and the Arizona Medical Association.

U.S. District Judge Douglas Rayes partially blocked the law the same year, but in 2023, after the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned Roe v. Wade, Rayes reversed his decision and allowed the law to take effect, saying the abortion groups no longer had standing.

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The same group of abortion organizations then asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to revive the lawsuit — and the court agreed.

The three-judge panel ruled that abortionists do have legal standing, as they face a “credible threat” of prosecution under the 2021 law. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has already said the law will not be enforced, and Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs signed an executive order stripping the 15 county prosecutors of the ability to enforce abortion laws — meaning there is no threat of prosecution.

In addition to a threat of prosecution, the abortionists said the law is causing them economic losses — a claim that was harshly criticized by Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), a pro-life legal group that will be defending the law in court.

“No child, born or unborn, should be discriminated against because of her race, sex, or disability,” Erin Hawley, an ADF vice president, said in a statement. “Children diagnosed with Down syndrome and other conditions have the same right to live as everyone else. The abortion industry is using this case to push for and profit from abortions targeting children for their genetic makeup, physical appearance, and other inherent immutable traits.”