Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) on Thursday signed into law three antiabortion-rights bills, the AP/Sacramento Bee reports (Christie, AP/Sacramento Bee, 3/31).
The legislation is scheduled to take effect 90 days after the state Legislature ends its current session (Beard Rau, Arizona Republic, 3/31).
Medication abortion restriction
One bill (SB 1324) Ducey signed would require abortion providers to comply with outdated FDA protocol for prescribing medication abortion, openly disregarding the FDA's updated medication abortion drug label (AP/Sacramento Bee, 3/31).
Specifically, the new law will prohibit a woman who is more than seven weeks' pregnant from obtaining a medication abortion. Abortion providers in the state currently offer medication abortion through nine weeks of pregnancy. Physicians also will be required to administer both drugs in the medication abortion regimen on site, necessitating an extra office visit, and at the dosage provided on the now-outdated FDA label, which is higher than the currently recommended dosage. A similar state law (HB 2036) was ruled unconstitutional in October 2015 (Women's Health Policy Report, 3/18).
FDA on Wednesday issued an updated label for Mifeprex, one of the two drugs used in medication abortion. The updated labeling is now more aligned with the scientifically proven, evidence-based standard of care that most providers already had been using in prescribing the drug. Specifically, the new label approves Mifeprex for medication abortion up to 70 days after a woman's last menstrual period; reduces the dosage of Mifeprex from 600 mg to 200 mg; changes the dose and timing misoprostol, the second drug in a medication abortion; and specifies that a woman can receive the second drug -- to take later at home -- at the same time she receives Mifeprex. The label also allows medical professionals other than physicians, such as a nurse practitioner, to administer the drugs (Women's Health Policy Report, 3/31).
According to the AP/Bee, the new Arizona law will likely face a federal legal challenge (AP/Sacramento Bee, 3/31). State Senate Minority Leader Katie Hobbs (D) said she was disappointed that Ducey signed the bill. She noted that FDA's label change means that the state Legislature will likely have to revise the law immediately (Arizona Republic, 3/31).
Separately, Jodi Liggett, spokesperson for Planned Parenthood Arizona, said Ducey should have vetoed the bill given his acknowledgement that it will require immediate alterations to comply with FDA's updated guidance. Discussing the updated label, she added, "I think [the drug manufacturer] realized that the original label was being used as a way to make it harder for women to get abortions ... It was not about health care at all. It was about creating barriers for women to get this kind of abortion care."
Donation restrictions
In addition, Ducey signed into law a bill that codifies a policy removing Planned Parenthood from the list of organizations to which state employees can donate via the state government's charitable campaign.
Fetal tissue restriction
Ducey also signed into law a bill (SB 1474) that bars abortion providers from selling or transferring fetal tissue for research purposes (AP/Sacramento Bee, 3/31).
The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Nancy Barto (R), was introduced in response to a series of misleading videos targeting Planned Parenthood's fetal tissue donation program (Women's Health Policy Report, 3/18). According to Planned Parenthood, the organization's affiliates in Arizona do not participate in fetal tissue donation (Arizona Republic, 3/31).
The law will effectively prohibit nearly all research on fetal tissue resulting from abortion. Under the measure, researchers will be able to use such tissue only to diagnose medical problems in the fetus or the woman, or to conduct pathological research on whether the fetus has a disease. The state government also will be able to investigate the use of fetal tissue even if the government's actions intrude on the doctor-patient relationship (Women's Health Policy Report, 3/18).
