A bill to strengthen Arizona's reporting requirements on abortion will be heading to Gov. Jan Brewer, a past supporter of measures to restrict abortions.

A Maricopa County Superior Court judge on Feb. 17 said he stopped significant provisions of abortion restrictions from taking effect because they would have burdened patients and abortion providers.

Critics of an injunction to stop a series of abortion restrictions from taking effect are questioning how and why the case was assigned to three Maricopa County Superior Court judges. The first two judges removed themselves from hearing the case – one was vacationing out of the country and the other gave no reason. The third judge, who came out of retirement to take the case, issued an injunction on Sept. 29 that put the laws on hold.

A Maricopa Superior Court judge has granted a preliminary injunction against new state laws that place restrictions on abortion.

Preliminary hearings will take place Sept. 29 for two lawsuits filed Sept. 14 challenging a new state law that would restrict abortions in Arizona. The hearings will take the day before the new laws are scheduled to go into effect.

Two lawmakers, along with several conservative groups, filed a motion Sept. 22 to intervene as defendants in a federal lawsuit that was filed to challenge a new state law to restrict abortions. Sen. Linda Gray, a Republican from Glendale and Rep. Nancy Barto, a Republican from Phoenix, argued that they have a right to intervene because the lawsuit could invalidate their votes.

No matter what your position is on the broad issue of health reform, it seems obvious that the health care bill should help protect the innocent and the helpless. And that will require language that forbids the government from covering abortions or paying for them.

Lawsuits were filed on Sept. 14 at state and federal levels against Arizona to block the enforcement of a new state law that would require women seeking abortions to make two separate trips to a physician's office before obtaining the procedure.

Senators passed two measures June 23 that would put additional restrictions on abortions performed in Arizona and modify the statutory definition of partial-birth abortion.

Women who seek an abortion will have to wait at least 24 hours between the time they speak to a doctor about terminating a pregnancy and the actual procedure, under legislation adopted by a Senate committee June 10.