Abortion restrictions enjoined in Arizona

A trial court in Maricopa County, Arizona, has granted a TRO enjoining the enforcement of some new burdensome restrictions on abortion. The restrictions would:

• require certain information to be delivered "orally and in person," rather than by phone, paper pamphlet, or e-mail;
  
• require that information to be delivered by the doctor who would be performing the abortion, or the referring physician, rather than a nurse or other staff member;
  
• require that information to be delivered by a doctor or referring physician even where the abortion was a medical one (i.e., RU-486), which can be legally administered by a nurse or physician assistant; and
  
• require parental consent for a minor woman's abortion to be in writing and notarized, but with no guidelines for protecting confidentiality and no penalties for breaching confidentiality.

These restrictions were challenged in court by Planned Parenthood Arizona. Litigation about the validity of the restrictions under the Arizona and U.S. Constitutions is still pending, but in the meantime these provisions won't be enforced.