abortion
Democratic Rep. Stephanie Stahl-Hamilton speaks at the Arizona Capitol. — © Reuters
The Arizona Senate voted on Wednesday to repeal an 1864 abortion ban. Under that law, which could otherwise have come into effect within weeks, abortion would be banned in almost all cases in the American state.
Arizona’s highest court ruled on April 9 that the 1864 anti-abortion law could be reinstated, as Republicans in the state wanted. Under that law, abortion would be banned in almost all cases in Arizona. There was an exception for cases where the expectant mother’s life is in danger, but not for fetuses conceived through rape or incest. Anyone who performs an abortion would risk two to five years in prison. US President Joe Biden called the law “cruel”.
Although the law was passed 160 years ago (before Arizona became a state), it had been blocked since the U.S. Supreme Court famously ruled Roe vs. Wade in 1973 and established federal protections for abortion. However, that decision was overturned in 2022.
During the vote, Democrats received support from two Republicans, allowing the repeal to pass the Senate by a vote of sixteen to fourteen. A decision that is expected to be signed soon by Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs. “We are going to end this terrible law once and for all,” Hobbs said in a social media post after the vote.
Once the law is officially repealed, Arizona women will be able to have abortions up to 15 weeks of pregnancy, as was the case before the court ruling.
