PHOENIX — Planned Parenthood Arizona filed a motion requesting a judge be removed from a case that will determine whether abortion is legal in the state of Arizona, court documents show.
The motion for recusal, filed Oct. 26, states both Justice William Montgomery's public comments and his participation in a protest outside PPAZ headquarters in 2015 would impact his ability to be impartial in the case.
Justice Montgomery told Arizona Capitol Times on Oct. 23 that he will not recuse himself from the case, despite comments he has made publicly against both abortion and Planned Parenthood.
According to court documents, Justice Montgomery wrote in a since deleted Facebook post that Planned Parenthood’s business model “requires abortion,” and that the organization is responsible for the “greatest genocide known to man.”
“They put King Herod to shame,” he wrote.
Following the overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022, abortion became a state issue, and Arizona reinstated a pre-statehood near-total abortion ban. But PPAZ was able to get the state Court of Appeals to decide the old law was superseded by a 2022 statute.
The statute allows doctors to terminate a pregnancy through the 15th week of pregnancy. The two laws – and determining which one takes precedence – will go before the Arizona Supreme Court in December.
Planned Parenthood Arizona states in the motion that the request for recusal is not based on Justice Montgomery's personal views, but on his public statements and participation, which do not allow for a "fair trial in a fair tribunal."
"Planned Parenthood Arizona believes that all litigants in Arizona are entitled to have their cases heard by judges who are not biased against them, and that includes Planned Parenthood Arizona,” Senior Director of Public Policy & Government Relations at Planned Parenthood Arizona said in a statement. “After carefully evaluating the recent reporting showing Justice Montgomery’s bias against Planned Parenthood Arizona as an organization, we believe recusal is necessary in our case.”
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