Mitchell's remarks came on April 4, during one of her regular press conferences. Mitchell, a Republican who is running for reelection, responded to a question concerning what she would say if asked whether she supported a woman's right to choose. She said her role as county attorney was to follow the law.
"So my answer is, whatever that law is, I will be enforcing the law," she said. "Right now, the law allows abortions up to 15 weeks. I know that there’s a pending legal case to decide if another law controls. That hasn’t been decided yet."
Mitchell also was asked about a recent announcement from Arizona for Abortion Access that it had gathered 500,000 signatures to place an initiative on the November ballot that would make a right to abortion part of the Arizona Constitution.
The organization needs 383,923 valid signatures from state voters and has until July 4 to get them, making it likely the constitutional amendment will qualify for the ballot. Would Mitchell support the proposition?
"I have to look at more details of it, but my understanding is that it is very, very broad," she said. "As a county attorney, my role is to uphold the law, and I’m going to uphold the law, whatever the people or the legislature and governor decide it to be. My personal opinion is something completely different."
Written for the majority by Justice John R. Lopez IV, the state Supreme Court ruling on Tuesday held that a 2022 Arizona law making abortion legal in the first 15 weeks of pregnancy did not supersede an 1864 territorial statute that makes abortion a crime unless the procedure is necessary to save the woman's life. The offense is punishable by two to five years in prison.
The ruling was made possible in 2022 by the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson, which overturned the right to an abortion granted by the high court in the 1973 landmark decision Roe v. Wade.
In its opinion, the state Supreme Court remanded the case to the Arizona Court of Appeals for further arguments on constitutional matters, staying enforcement of the law for 14 calendar days.
Mitchell urges lawmakers to come up with ‘reasonable law’
In a statement following Tuesday's decision, Mitchell took a more nuanced position. She said the ruling "rather than settling the issue, has raised issues and caused many to have legitimate and serious concerns."She urged the governor and the legislature to "come together to enact a reasonable law that takes these and other issues into account" before the 14-day stay expires.
"It’s important for Arizonans to know that in the almost two years since the Dobbs decision, my office has not received a single request to prosecute an abortion case," she said. "I do not anticipate that today's decision will change that. It is important to remember that under Arizona's law, women who get an abortion cannot be prosecuted. Today's ruling does not change that: Women cannot and will not be prosecuted for receiving an abortion. My priority always has been to protect women, not prosecute them.
"Likewise, I have made it clear that this office will not prosecute abortions that were the result of rape, incest or molestation. As a career sex crimes prosecutor, I am keenly aware that the women — and girls — who get pregnant as victims of these crimes are not hypothetical situations — they are very real names and real faces to me," she added.
Notably, the 1864 law does not make exceptions for rape, incest or molestation. But Mitchell apparently believes she retains the authority to prosecute — or not — abortion cases based on these criteria.
In June 2023, Gov. Katie Hobbs issued an executive order granting authority over all abortion-related prosecutions in the state to Attorney General Kris Mayes. Both Mayes and Hobbs are Democrats.
Mitchell, however, has questioned Hobbs' authority to give Mayes jurisdiction over all future abortion prosecutions. In July 2023, Mitchell and 11 other county attorneys signed a letter to Hobbs, asking the governor to rescind the executive order, calling it "an exercise of authority not vested in the governor's office."
In a videotaped statement addressing the state Supreme Court ruling, Hobbs decried the decision as "callous" and seemed to take aim at Mitchell and the other county attorneys who signed the letter.
"I want to make it clear that my executive order protecting women and doctors from prosecution by extremist county attorneys still stands," she said.
For her part, Mayes denounced the court's decision in a press release, calling it "unconscionable and an affront to freedom." She also vowed that as long as she's attorney general, "no woman or doctor will be prosecuted under this draconian law." Mayes also criticized the ruling in a press conference on Tuesday with other prominent Democrats.
Mitchell faces a July 30 primary against fellow Republican Gina Godbehere, who didn't respond on Tuesday to requests for comment from Phoenix New Times.
Democrat Tamika Wooten will face either Mitchell or Godbehere in the November general election. Wooten said decisions regarding abortion prosecutions are the purview of Mayes' office thanks to Hobbs' executive order.
"Our AG has stated clearly that she will not prosecute women and/or their health care providers for seeking or performing abortions. I stand with AG Mayes. If that decision is ever returned back to the County Attorney offices, I will not prosecute a woman for her reproductive health care decisions," Wooten said.
