PHOENIX (AP) — Democrats secured enough votes in the Arizona Senate Wednesday to overturn a Civil War-era abortion ban that the state Supreme Court recently allowed to go into effect.
Although voting was not completed, the Senate had the 16 votes needed to pass the bill.
In the Senate, 14 Democrats joined two Republicans in voting to repeal the bill. Barely clear Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs is expected to sign the bill in the Arizona House of Representatives last week.
The near-total ban, which predates Arizona's enactment, allows abortions only to save the patient's life and makes no exceptions for survivors of rape or incest. In a ruling last month, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that doctors could be prosecuted under an 1864 law that says anyone who facilitates an abortion can be sentenced to two to five years in prison. He suggested that there was.
If the repeal bill is signed into law, the 2022 law banning surgical abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy will become the abortion law in effect in Arizona. Still, the repeal would not go into effect until 90 days after Congress adjourns (probably in June or July), which would likely result in a period during which nearly all abortions would be illegal.
As the repeal bill continues to be counted, several senators spoke about their motivations for voting.
“This is a clear statement that Congress does not want the territorial ban to be enforceable,” said Democratic state Sen. Priya Sundareshan, who voted for repeal.
Arizona Attorney General Chris Mays called the vote a “victory for the state's freedoms,” but without the emergency clause, Arizonans would still be subject to a near-total abortion ban for some time. He expressed concern that this would happen.
“Rest assured, my office is considering all options to prevent this outrageous, 160-year-old law from taking effect,” she said.
There was a lot of confusion from those on the Senate floor as Republican state Sen. Shauna Bolick explained that she joined Democrats in voting in favor of repeal.
Republican state Sen. Jake Hoffman denounced his Republican colleagues' joining with their Democratic colleagues as an affront to party principles.
“It's disgusting that this is the current state of the Republican Party today,” Hoffman said.
Advocates on both sides of the abortion issue arrived in front of the Arizona State Senate on Wednesday to emphasize their positions. They included people affiliated with Planned Parenthood and faith-based groups opposed to abortion.
Schoolgirls knelt in prayer in front of a table with a large statue of the Virgin Mary, while a man with a megaphone yelled at passersby to repent.
“I hope it gets repealed, but I pray it doesn't,” said Karen Frigon, who was handing out pamphlets for the Arizona Right to Life group.
Arizona is one of the few battleground states that will decide the next president. Former President Donald Trump warned that the issue could lead to losses for the Republican Party and avoided supporting a national abortion ban, but appointed a Supreme Court justice who allowed states to outlaw it. He said he was proud of that.
The law had been blocked since the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade guaranteed a constitutional right to abortion nationwide.
But when Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022, then-Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, a Republican, convinced a state judge that the 1864 ban was invalid. may be enforced again. Still, while this case is making its way through the courts, the law has not actually been implemented. Mr. Mays, who succeeded Mr. Brnovich, sued the state high court to oppose reinstatement of the law.
Planned Parenthood officials pledge to continue providing abortions as long as they are legal, strengthening networks to help patients travel out of state to get abortions in states like New Mexico and California Then he said.
Advocates argue that abortion should not be performed until the fetus is viable outside the womb (usually about 24 weeks), with exceptions, to save the parent's life or protect the parent's physical or mental health. We're gathering signatures for a ballot measure to approve it.
Meanwhile, Republican lawmakers are considering putting one or more competing abortion proposals on the November ballot.
Leaked planning documents include proposals for a 14-week ban “masquerading as a 15-week law” to codify existing abortion regulations and allow abortions until the beginning of the 15th week, among other things House Republicans are considering. An overview of the approach was provided. , and measures to ban abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, before most people even know they're pregnant.
House Republicans have not yet released any such voting measure.