Repeal for Civil War-era abortion ban
Arizona has voted to repeal a Civil War-era ban on nearly all abortions that is set to take effect as early as June 8.
The measure now heads to the state Senate, which could grant final passage next week.
The 1864 abortion law took effect briefly after Roe v Wade was overturned in 2022 but was soon blocked by the courts. It was later revived by the state’s highest court on April 9, inciting national uproar and political panic among Republicans who worry that the ban will hurt their chances of winning elections this year.
GOP anxieties about the politics of a near-total abortion ban have led to an unlikely, albeit temporary, alliance between Democrats, a small number of Republican lawmakers mostly in swing districts and allies of former president Donald Trump.
Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee who has bragged about his role in overturning Roe, voiced his dissatisfaction with the Arizona ruling, saying the state Supreme Court had gone too far and promising that it would be “straightened out” by “the governor and everybody else”.
Despite that high-level pressure, Republicans in the Arizona House blocked two previous attempts to vote to repeal the law. Last week, House Speaker Ben Toma urged his colleagues to carefully consider what he called a “very complicated topic”.
Three Republicans in the House – representatives Matt Gress, Tim Dunn and Justin Wilmeth – crossed party lines on Wednesday (US time) to vote with the chamber’s Democrats.
“This law is not perfect,” Dunn said, stressing that he is personally opposed to abortion. “Unfortunately, protecting women in life-threatening situations and accounting for rape and incest were not considered at the time of its passing.”
Even if the bill to repeal the 1864 law is approved, the near-total abortion ban could still take effect for several months. Bills typically take effect 90 days after the legislative session ends. Once in place, a law banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy would prevail.
The legislation now moves to the state Senate, where it needs votes from at least two Republicans in addition to all of the chamber’s Democrats.
The Senate is already moving forward with an identical version of the repeal bill, signaling that the GOP could support the bill approved by the House on Wednesday. The earliest that the Senate could vote on the House version is May 1.
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs would then need to sign it into law, which she has said she would do.
“I am hopeful the Senate does the right thing,” – Washington Post