Arizona lawmakers vote to repeal Civil War-era abortion ban

On the same day that Florida’s six-week abortion ban went into effect, Arizona lawmakers voted to repeal a Civil War-era rule that bans almost all abortions and had been allowed to remain on the books by the state Supreme Court last month.

Two Republican Arizona Senators sided with Democrats for a 16-14 vote to repeal the ban during a lengthy debate.

The Associated Press reported, “The vote extended for hours as senators described their motivations in personal, emotional and even biblical terms — including graphic descriptions of abortion procedures and amplified audio recordings of a fetal heartbeat, along with warnings against the dangers of “legislating religious beliefs.”

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, is expected to sign the repeal Thursday.

Arizona’s prior rule banned all abortions except to save the mother’s life and did not take into account cases of rape or incest. The law, stemming from 1864, was allowed to stand by the state’s Supreme Court last month and drew outrage from President Joe Biden and other Democrats.

The Arizona Supreme Court warned that people could be prosecuted for performing abortions.

“In light of this Opinion, physicians are now on notice that all abortions, except those necessary to save a woman’s life, are illegal … and that additional criminal and regulatory sanctions may apply to abortions performed after fifteen weeks’ gestation,” the state Supreme Court’s majority opinion said.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, called the court’s ruling “one of the worst decisions in the history of the Arizona Supreme Court, if not the worst.”

Meanwhile in Florida, the abortion’s six-week abortion ban took effect Wednesday. On the November ballot is Amendment 4 to preserve abortion rights.

Florida Politics publisher Peter Schorsch tweeted Wednesday about the potential for a Special Session this Spring so Republicans can put their own ballot questions in the same election.

“There is behind-the-scenes work being done to add a handful of constitutional amendments to the ballot in effort to muddy the November ballot when voters will decide on abortion and pot initiatives,” Schorsch wrote.