U.S. District Judge Douglas Rayes has blocked a provision of an Arizona law that would have let prosecutors bring felony charges against doctors who knowingly terminate pregnancies solely because the babies have a genetic abnormality like Down syndrome.
"It is a shame because we protect such people from discrimination, and we should also protect them in the womb," Cindy Dahlgren with Center for Arizona Policy tells American Family News. "Most people with Down syndrome learn to read and write, they go to school, they hold jobs, they bring joy and love to their families, [and] they contribute to society, just like you and me."
The Center for Arizona Policy, whose mission is to promote and defend the foundational values of life, marriage and family, and religious freedom, is confident this provision in the law will prevail in court.
"The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals has allowed a similar law in Tennessee to go into effect," notes Dahlgren. "Also, currently in Arizona, we have a law that prohibits other discriminatory abortion bans based on sex and race, so it only makes sense that other discriminatory abortion bans should also be in effect."
And in spite of this setback, Dahlgren says there are still "a lot of good things happening while we wait for this one provision to go through the court system."
"The abortion industry will not be allowed to circumvent safety precautions by sending the abortion pill through the mail, the remains of aborted babies will be dignified by their being cremated or buried, taxpayers do not have to fund research using aborted fetal remains, and public universities will be prohibited from providing or referring abortions," Dahlgren lists.
According to the Associated Press, Judge Rayes made clear the new law does not prohibit abortions because of a fetal genetic abnormality, nor does it necessarily bar doctors from performing such abortions. Instead, the law would prohibit doctors from performing such abortions if they know the woman's motive, Rayes said.
