Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-AZ) announced she is looking to repeal a state law requiring an annual report with detailed information on every abortion performed in the state.
A 2010 Arizona law requires the state’s Department of Health Services to create an annual report on abortion statistics, including demographic data on women who get abortions in Arizona. Hobbs said the state legislature should repeal the law, saying it “creates a government registry of pregnancies and requires government surveillance of pregnant women.”
“This report is an attack on our freedom, is unacceptable, and must be brought to an end,” Hobbs said in a prepared statement Wednesday.
“The government has no place in surveilling Arizonans’ medical decision-making or tracking their health history,” she added.
The abortion rate in Arizona is the second lowest in a decade, according to the state health report, which is the report Hobbs says should be cut. In the last 10 years, the abortion rate has experienced an overall decline, all while Arizona’s population has rapidly increased. According to the state health department’s annual report, 12,705 abortions were performed in Arizona last year, which is slightly under the 10-year average.
While passage of a repeal via legislation is unlikely as Republicans control both chambers of the Arizona statehouse, Hobbs and abortion rights advocates could pursue a repeal through the courts.
Dr. Jill Gibson, chief medical officer for Planned Parenthood of Arizona, agreed with Hobbs, saying the reporting requirements are burdensome and do not help patient care.
“There’s nothing that’s contained within this report that’s going to help me continue to provide safe and effective abortion care,” she said.
Cathi Herrod, president of the conservative Center for Arizona Policy, disagreed, saying the annual report provides state residents with important information about women’s healthcare.
“All that data is helpful as policymakers, as citizens in Arizona, to know, ‘How can we serve women better? How can we spare women the harms of abortion and spare the lives of unborn children?’” she said.
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In the 2024 election, Arizona voters overwhelmingly approved of a constitutional right to abortion. Arizona currently has a 15-week abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest.
Following the election, the ACLU filed a lawsuit to repeal the 15-week abortion ban, arguing it conflicts with the constitutional amendment to enshrine the right to abortion in the state of Arizona.
