Arizona Supreme Court set to reinstate 160-year-old abortion ban
Nearly two years ago, Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Supreme Court, allowing abortion rights and access to be decided on the state level. After the Supreme Court’s ruling, it was predicted that half of the states in America would instate laws that would restrict or even completely ban abortions, which has so far proven to be accurate. Recently, Arizona joined the ranks of these states with their plan to reinstate a ban originally created in 1864.
Since Dec. 2022, Arizona doctors have been allowed to provide abortions up until 15 weeks of pregnancy. The new ban, however, that Arizona has instituted, bans all abortions except for those necessary to save the life of the mother regardless of pregnancy progression. Most of the context from Arizona’s ruling comes from an 1864 abortion ban that states prosecution will be necessary for, “a person who provides, supplies or administers to a pregnant woman, or procures such woman to take any medicine, drugs or substance, or uses or employs any instrument or other means whatever, with intent thereby to procure the miscarriage of such woman, unless it is necessary to save her life.”
As of right now, the law makes no exceptions for cases of rape or incest and also bans medication abortions. Any abortion providers under this law face the possibility of being charged with two to five years in prison. Depending on the Arizona Supreme Court's final decisions, a new law could be in place within 60 days.
President Joe Biden publicly commented on the new law stating, "Millions of Arizonans will soon live under an even more extreme and dangerous abortion ban, which fails to protect women even when their health is at risk or in tragic cases of rape or incest.” He continued, “This ruling is a result of the extreme agenda of Republican elected officials who are committed to ripping away women's freedom." Additionally, Biden pointed out how the ban created in 1864 was instituted before women had the right to vote. Arizonian legislators have been struggling with this as well, with Democratic Arizona Attorney General Kristin Mayes even publicly stating that she refuses to enforce this law.
Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to Tuscan, Arizona on Friday, Apr. 12, 2024, for a campaign rally where she then critiqued the law’s antique origin. Harris added, “Because of Donald Trump, more than 20 states in our nation have bans," and continued, "Now, because of Donald Trump, one in three women of reproductive age in our country live in a state that has a Trump abortion ban."
The initial ruling of the law was 4-2 with Republican Justices John R. Lopez IV, Clint Bolick, James P. Beene, and Kathryn H. King being in the majority. With this law in effect, many believe that women in the future who will seek to have the procedure will be forced to travel to bordering areas such as Southern California, if possible.
With the upcoming 2024 Presidential election, campaigns in Arizona will most certainly be sure to cover the issue of abortion to try and sway voters in the swing state. U.S. News has selected thirteen counties within Arizona that will be important to the election because of their political party percentages and past presidential electoral records. One of these featured counties is Maricopa, located in the southwestern part of the state. Over 60 percent of the population resides in the county of Maricopa, making political influence in the county vital for seeing where the state ultimately lands in the election.
Thumbnail photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons