United States: Arizona’s Supreme Court has issued a ruling that reinstates the state’s nearly total abortion ban law passed in 1864. Founded 160 years ago, this law punishes anyone who performs an abortion with two to five years in prison, except when it is necessary to save the mother’s life.
This ruling sparked concerns that all abortion clinics in the state may be forced to shut down, impacting women’s healthcare and potentially affecting the upcoming election. However, there is a possibility that Arizona voters could overturn the ruling in a referendum scheduled for November.
The verdict comes after a series of legal disputes over whether the pre-statehood law could still be enforced after being dormant for many years. Some argued that it had been rendered obsolete by years of state legislation, including a 2022 law that permits abortions until the 15th week of pregnancy.
Arizona’s highest court decided to review a case in August 2023. The case is related to a recent law that was challenged by a right-wing law firm, Alliance Defending Freedom. The lower court previously ruled in favour of the new law, but it was overturned by the state supreme court in a 4-2 decision.
The Supreme Court declared that the 1864 law was ‘now enforceable’ as there were no federal or state defences for the process. The Alliance Defending Freedom and anti-abortion activists rejoiced at the decision, calling it ‘significant’ and claiming that it would ‘protect the lives of countless, innocent unborn children.’
The top court of Arizona postponed the enforcement of the law for 14 days, and the case was sent back to a lower court for further discussions. It is still uncertain how the law concerning abortion will be enforced in Arizona.
The state’s Governor, Katie Hobbs, who is a Democrat, issued an executive order last year that delegated the responsibility of enforcing the law to the state attorney general, Kris Mayes, also a Democrat. Mayes assured that people in Arizona will not face prosecution for performing or obtaining an abortion.
Kris Mayes said that, “Today’s decision to reimpose a law from when Arizona wasn’t a state, the Civil War was raging, and women couldn’t even vote will go down in history as a stain on our state.” The ruling also raised concerns among some Arizona Republicans.
Abortion access helped Democrats overperform in elections and is expected to influence results again in November. Democrats hope the issue gives them a boost in battleground states like Arizona.
Activists in the state met the signature threshold needed to put a ballot initiative to protect abortion rights until 24 weeks of pregnancy to voters this autumn. In the almost two years since Roe was overturned, activists won all seven ballot initiatives related to abortion rights, even in Republican-controlled states.
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