An Arizona judge has denied a request to suspend the abortion ban

An Arizona judge on Friday refused to grant her an order which allowed enforcement the law, which was passed before the state was formed and criminalized pending abortions, saying abortion groups that had asked her to block the order were unlikely to prevail on appeal.

The ruling by Pima County Superior Court Judge Kelly Johnson means the state’s abortion providers will not be able to resume procedures. Abortions were halted on September 23 when Johnson ruled that the 1973 ban must be lifted so that the Civil War-era law could be enforced.

The Prosecutor General of the Republic, Mark Brnovich, sought to have the ban lifted. Lawyers from his office told the judge that, following the decision of the US Supreme Court on June 24 said women did not have a constitutional right to an abortion, there was no legal reason to block the old law.

Planned Parenthood and its Arizona affiliate urged Johnson to uphold the injunction, which was issued shortly after the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision. They argued that laws passed by state legislatures in the next 50 years should prevail.

On Monday, Planned Parenthood lawyers asked Johnson to delay her decision to allow for an appeal.

Before last Friday’s ruling that allowed the old law to stand, abortions were legal in Arizona until the fetus was viable, usually at 24 weeks of pregnancy. But on Saturday, a law passed by the state legislature last spring banning abortions at 15 weeks went into effect.

Gov. Doug Ducey has said the law prevails, but his attorneys have not tried to defend that position in court. Brnovich and some Republican lawmakers insist the old law stands.

Brittany Fontaine, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Arizona, said she was “outraged” by the ruling.

“It is unacceptable that the people of Arizona should wake up every morning to their elected officials making contradictory statements about what the laws are, or claiming they don’t know, and yet the court refuses to provide any clarity or relief.” Fontaine said.

Some clinics in Arizona referred patients to health care providers in California and New Mexico after Johnson overturned the old law’s ban, and they were poised to resume abortions. The law, which was in force before the formation of the state, provides for a prison sentence of two to five years for doctors or anyone else who assists in an abortion. Last year, the Legislature repealed a law that allowed women seeking abortions to face charges.

Ashley Feiring, a registered nurse at Camelback Family Planning, an abortion provider in Phoenix, said her office will continue to look for ways to serve patients.

“We’re trying to come up with everything we can to get loopholes in the law,” Feiring said Friday, adding that the agency would be ready to provide the procedure again.

Feiring said her office continues to provide post-miscarriage care and provides ultrasounds for patients so they know how many weeks into their pregnancy they may be. This is important, as birth control pills can only be used in the first 10-12 weeks of pregnancy.

Feiring said some patients can get a prescription for the abortion pill from a supplier in Sweden and have it mailed to a pharmacy in India, but that takes about three weeks. Arizona law prohibits the delivery of birth control pills through the mail, and US providers usually don’t take the risk.

After Roe was overturned, Arizona and 13 other states banned abortion at any stage of pregnancy. About 13,000 people in Arizona have abortions each year, according to reports from the Arizona Department of Health.