(NRLC) Just hours ago [on May 2], Arizona’s pro-abortion Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a bill that repealed an 1864 law that the state Supreme Court had just ruled was enforceable. “This ban needs to be repealed. I said it in 2022 when Roe was overturned and I’ve said it again and again as governor,” Hobbs said before signing the bill.
Her signature capped a series of extremely close votes. On Wednesday, the Arizona Senate passed a bill repealing the law. The vote was 16-14 with two Republican senators voting with the 14 Democrats in the minority.
Last week, three Republican members of the House joined all 29 Democrats to send the bill to the Senate. That vote was 32-28. Pro-abortion Gov. Katie Hobbs signed the bill this morning.
With the repeal, a law passed in 2022 law takes its place. That law gave unborn children legal protection after the 15th week.
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Background
On April 9th, in a 4-2 decision, the Arizona Supreme Court said the 1864 law could now be enforced because Roe v. Wade had been overturned by Dobbs.
“We conclude that [Arizona’s law] does not create a right to, or otherwise provide independent statutory authority for, an abortion that repeals or restricts [the law], but rather is predicated entirely on the existence of a federal constitutional right to an abortion since disclaimed by Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization,” the court wrote in its opinion in Planned Parenthood Arizona v. Mayes.
“Absent the federal constitutional abortion right, and because [the law] does not independently authorize abortion, there is no provision in federal or state law prohibiting [the law’s] operation. Accordingly, [Arizona’s law] is now enforceable.”
According to ABC News,
After being signed by Hobbs, the bill will then take effect 90 days after the legislative session ends, which must be by June 30. But the 1864 ban goes into effect June 27, meaning that without further court action, there will be a monthslong gap in which that restriction is in force before repeal kicks in.
Speaking with ABC News, Hobbs said she is asking the courts to consider the legislative intent from the repeal and ultimately delay the implementation of the 1864 ban.
Attention now turns to the efforts of Arizona for Abortion Access, a coalition of abortion advocates, to have a measure on the November ballot that would “enshrine the right to an abortion in the state’s constitution.”
Tweet This: Attention now turns to Arizona for Abortion Access, which is working to “enshrine the right to an abortion in the state’s constitution.”
In truth, it allows abortion throughout pregnancy. “It specifically allows abortions through fetal viability, generally considered between 22 and 24 weeks of pregnancy,” Howard Fischer reports.
“But it also permits the procedure beyond that in cases when a doctor determines it ‘is necessary to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant individual,’ a provision foes contend would allow abortion right up to the point of birth.”
Arizona for Abortion Access said in early April that it had more than enough signatures to qualify for the ballot.
Editor's note: This article was published by National Right to Life News and is reprinted with permission.
