PHOENIX – Jordan Johnson, 29, was one of several patients walking past anti-abortion protesters on her way to Acacia Women’s Center on Thursday. Just two days after the state Supreme Court ruled in 1864 that the abortion ban was enforceable, activists were outside the clinic, yelling at women to keep out and running to cars entering the parking lot.
“It was very angry and emotional to go through these children,” Johnson told NBC News before scheduling the abortion. He responded by asking the activists to leave him alone. “If they’re going to yell at me, I’m not going to back down.”
Dr. Johnson, who has been working as a gynecologist at the clinic for a long time. Ronald was to see Eunice. Outside her office, protesters lined the sidewalk with large red signs bearing Eunice’s name and face, claiming the doctor “kills 150 innocent babies here every month.”
On Tuesday, the state’s highest court ruled in favor of an 1864 policy that banned abortions from the moment of conception except to save the woman’s life. It made it a crime punishable by two to five years in prison for anyone who performs an abortion or assists a person to perform an abortion. Tuesday’s ruling effectively overturns a lower court’s ruling that the recent 15-week ban invalidated the law.
Even if protests against abortion rights take place across the state, an effort must be made constitutional amendment As Arizona vows to protect abortion rights on the November ballot and prevent elected officials from ruling, patients who spoke to NBC News said they are frustrated by the state’s failure to protect abortion rights and plan for an uncertain future.
“It’s absolutely heartbreaking to know that there are so many women who will self-harm or turn to other means,” Johnson said. She added that she plans to have her tubes tied after the procedure because abortion may no longer be available to her in Arizona. “I’m here to have an abortion because I think [being pregnant] “It’s threatening my life because of how sick it makes me and I can’t do anything about it.”
Amber Adams, 30, said Thursday she saw Eunice for a second abortion. She recalled her first visit to the clinic when she encountered anti-abortion activists.
“The first time I was pretty young,” Adams said. “I almost went back because they made me feel so bad. An old woman was shouting at me saying I was a bad person. But I know that I made the right choice that day.”
On Tuesday, the state Supreme Court said it would delay its decision for 14 days so the lower court could consider “additional constitutional challenges.” Reproductive rights advocates can appeal the decision within a two-week window. Meanwhile, a separate, ongoing suit would allow practitioners to continue providing services from the 15th week of pregnancy until the end of May.
Tuesday’s decision is the latest setback for abortion rights by the US Supreme Court since 2022. Roe v. Wade overturned his convictionwhich provides a constitutional right to abortion. With the future of reproductive rights in the state up in the air, Adams said she would not give up her right to an abortion.
“I would go to another state. There is a way, but they make it difficult. If you can’t go here Go to California or Mexico, go somewhere,” Adams said. “But it’s dangerous” because without access medication abortion“people will start making them themselves.”
Activists have stood in front of Younis’ office for years. One of them told NBC News that they were trying to close the center and prevent people from seeing Yunis. But the doctor said he was not worried about it. Younis told NBC News that he has been fighting the opposition for years, but his main goal is to help and care for his patients.
“What they are doing scares our patients. Not everyone will always agree with you. But according to me, those people do not affect what I do,” Yunis said on Thursday. She said she has seen firsthand the effects of abortion bans, including women bleeding and ending up in the emergency room after trying to perform the procedure on themselves. “I don’t want to see any patient hurt, whether it’s me or not.”
Adams said he has been seeing Eunice for several years and trusts her to treat all of her reproductive health needs. “I have friends, family members who come to him,” she said. “He’s also pro-birth control. He’s trying to make sure next time it’s safe that you’re not the same person that’s here often.’
As for the law, Adams said abortion is a personal decision of the patient and condemned the ban. “People should mind their own business and let people mind their own business,” Adams said.
“They’re using the law from 160 years ago, but times have changed,” he said. “The world has evolved.”