UPDATE
May 3, 2024 4:22 AM CDT
Arizona's 1864 ban on almost all abortions is a dead law walking. Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a repeal of the law Thursday, a day after it was passed by the state Senate. She slammed the "ban that was passed by 27 men before Arizona was even a state, at a time when America was at war over the right to own slaves, a time before women could even vote," the AP reports. Arizona's top court ruled last month that the ban was "enforceable" and it could still take effect for a limited period, reports NBC News. The repeal bill won't take effect until 90 days after the current legislative session ends and Kris Mayes, the state's Democratic attorney general, has said the ban could be enforceable by June 27.
May 1, 2024 5:10 PM CDT
A near-total abortion ban in Arizona dating from 1864 will soon be in the history books instead of the statute books. The state Senate voted Wednesday to send a repeal bill to the desk of Democratic Gov. Katie Hobb, who has promised to sign it as soon as it gets there, the Arizona Republic reports. Two Republicans, including Senate President Pro Tempore TJ Shope, sided with Democrats in the 16-14 vote. The Arizona House passed a repeal bill last week, and senators voted to pass the House bill instead of the chamber's own repeal legislation.
Sen. Shawnna Bolick, the other Republican who voted for repeal, explained her vote and spoke about her history of major pregnancy complications in a 21-minute speech, NBC News reports. Republican opponents of repeal spoke for around two hours, with Sen. Anthony Kern calling the 1864 law "the best abortion ban in the nation" and comparing Bolick and Shope to Nazis deciding which Jews would die.
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"The devastating consequences of this archaic ban are why I've called for it to be repealed since day one of my administration," Hobbs said in a statement. After she signs the bill, it will take effect 90 days after the end of the legislative session, meaning there could be several weeks in which the 1864 law could be enforced, the Republic reports. State Attorney General Kris Mayes, however, has no intention of enforcing it. "Rest assured, my office is exploring every option available to prevent this outrageous 160-year-old law from ever taking effect," she said Wednesday, per the AP. (More Arizona stories.)
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