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The Arizona House last week passed the measure after a handful
of Republicans broke party ranks and voted with Democrats to
send it to the Senate. The bill appears to have enough support
to pass the upper chamber, even with Republicans holding a slim
16-14 majority.
If passed, the measure could immediately be sent to Governor
Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, who has said she will sign it.
The fight over the Civil War-era abortion ban in Arizona, a
state sharply split between Democrats and Republicans, is the
latest flashpoint on women's reproductive rights in the U.S. In
2022 the U.S. Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to
abortion, leaving it up to states to decide the issue.
Conservative-led states quickly invoked strict bans on abortion
within their borders.
Democrats across the U.S., confident that public opinion is on
their side in supporting abortion rights, have sought to elevate
the issue ahead of November's presidential election. Arizona is
a key battleground state.
The 1864 law was revived by a state Supreme Court ruling on
April 9, and unless the legislature intervenes, it could take
effect within 60 days of that ruling, state Attorney General
Kris Mayes, a Democrat, has said.
If Democrats do manage to repeal the ban, restrictions on
abortion would still be in place. In 2022, Arizona passed a law
that bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Arizona Democrats have said they will continue attempting to
place a ballot measure before voters in November that would
restore abortion rights.
(Reporting by Brad Brooks in Longmont, Colorado; editing by
Donna Bryson and Leslie Adler)
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