Unlike the U.S. Constitution, the Arizona Constitution includes an explicit right to privacy, which experts say will play a role in anticipated legal challenges to Arizona’s restrictive new abortion laws. This matters because a barrage of lititgation is expected in the coming weeks and months to determine what the future of abortion will look like in the state.
The state legislature has passed a number of restrictions over the years, which are likely now enforceable, but according to Professor Lindquist, abortion-rights advocates will undoubtedly challenge them in court and it will be up to the Arizona Supreme Court to decide whether those laws align with our state constitution.
Arizona constitution reads, “No person shall be disturbed in his private affairs, or his home invaded, without authority of law.” Professor Lindquist says that the question is whether or not the state supreme court would find that the privacy right in the Arizona constitution actually encompasses abortion rights. “I think that’s unlikely,” says Professor Lindquist.