The state’s largest abortion provider is now offering consultations via telehealth and mailing patients the abortion pill, after laws banning it from doing so were blocked by a judge earlier this year.

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In February, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Gregory Como struck down multiple state laws restricting how and when women can terminate a pregnancy in Arizona, ruling that they violate the state’s newly adopted abortion rights amendment. Those laws prohibited the use of telehealth in abortion care, forbade the mailing of abortion pills and required a 24-hour delay, an ultrasound and the recitation of state-mandated information about alternatives like adoption before an abortion could take place.

Como concluded that the restrictions infringe on the right to the procedure enshrined in the Arizona Constitution two years ago, when voters approved Proposition 139, which explicitly bars the state from passing or enforcing laws that unnecessarily hamper access to abortion.

The ruling removes obstacles for women seeking an abortion before viability, or the time when a fetus could survive outside of the uterus, generally considered to be between 23 and 24 weeks of gestation.

The vast majority of abortions in Arizona happen before that point: In 2024, the most recent year for which there is data, 93 percent of procedures occurred at or before 13 weeks of gestation.

Blocked restrictions make process “less burdensome” for many

April Donovan, the interim CEO of the Arizona branch of Planned Parenthood, said most of the patients seen by its clinics are under 12 weeks of gestation, making the impact of the court ruling widespread. Planned Parenthood Arizona runs seven health clinics throughout the state and four of them — located in Flagstaff, Tucson, Glendale and Tempe — offer abortions. Donovan said that being able to eliminate the extra restrictions has been particularly beneficial for women facing economic constraints.

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“It is so much less burdensome for the patient,” she said. “So, now patients don’t have to think about two days of getting daycare or driving two days to our office. This saves them so much money and stress.”

Reproductive rights attorneys labeled the law requiring a 24-hour delay the “two-trip scheme” in court and argued that it forced women to make two appointments for a procedure that could often be resolved in just one. Some clinics, particularly when the state was under a 15-week gestational ban and dealing with a new influx of out-of-state demand at the same time, could not always accommodate back-to-back appointments, making it even harder for rural or low-income women to obtain an abortion.

Donovan added that eliminating the state-mandated information law, which required providers to ask patients about the reason for obtaining an abortion, and the ultrasound law, which specifically mandated an invasive transvaginal procedure, has allowed providers to avoid retraumatizing patients by respecting their privacy and using abdominal ultrasounds when needed.

And the organization has even been able to reduce its price by $100, since providers no longer have to perform two ultrasounds under the two-trip scheme.

Telehealth launch will help more Arizona women access care

While PPAZ’s recent streamlining of appointments has made it easier for providers to see more patients, the rollout of care via telehealth is expected to increase the organization’s ability to reach even more women in need of abortion care.

Arizona’s telehealth ban prohibited providers from counseling patients about abortion over the phone or virtually, and it also banned mailing abortion pills. Medication abortions comprise nearly half of all abortions in Arizona. In 2024, about 49 percent of all procedures were accomplished through non-surgical means, with the abortion pill.

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Donovan said that telehealth and mailing the pill will allow patients to have abortions in the comfort of their own homes, without worrying about setting aside time to visit a clinic. And while opponents of lifting the ban claimed in court that providers wouldn’t be able to identify coercion or pinpoint gestational age via telehealth, Donovan said that there are safeguards in place to ensure patients are receiving the care that’s best for them.

A nurse pre-screens potential patients over the phone to determine the woman’s gestational age, and if there’s any uncertainty, the patient will be asked to visit the clinic for an ultrasound. The abortion pill is only effective up to 12 weeks of gestation.

For women who are able to take the abortion pill on their own, an initial telehealth conversation with the doctor and printed instructions mailed with the pill make doubly sure that they’re informed about the risks and process. Then a follow up video chat with the doctor two weeks later helps verify the patient’s health and determine whether the abortion was successful.

Removing the restrictions posed by laws like the telehealth ban, Donovan said, gives providers and patients the freedom to give and receive the care they’re seeking.

“It’s really heartwarming that patients get what they want when they want it,” she said.

What’s next?

While Como’s ruling remains in place for now, allowing providers across the state to see more patients and tailor care to their needs, efforts to revive the restrictions persist. Republicans in the state legislature, who sought to preserve the laws in court, have since filed an appeal.

Arizona’s Democratic leadership, meanwhile, has sought to defend access to abortion. Governor Katie Hobbs has consistently vetoed legislation aimed at further restricting the procedure. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes sided with reproductive rights organizations in legal challenges that toppled the state’s 15-week gestational ban and the restrictions that abortion providers have recently begun leaving behind.

But both Hobbs and Mayes face reelection in the fall. And the Republican frontrunner to oppose Mayes is Senate President Warren Petersen, who continues advocating in court for the restoration of the laws that strictly limit how and when abortions can be provided. The threat of a hostile state government is ever-present for abortion providers, Donovan said.

“We have a Democratic governor and a Democratic attorney general who are very supportive in keeping rights for all Arizonans and we appreciate that,” she said. “(But) we are cautious as we approach these midterms and we hope for the best.”