Jonathan J. Cooper, Associated Press
10 minutes ago
PHOENIX (AP) – Tuesday's Arizona Supreme Court decision abolishing virtually all abortions in Arizona puts the issue front and center in a battleground state that will play a key role in determining the next president and Senate majority. will be fulfilled.
Democrats immediately slammed the ruling, saying the U.S. Supreme Court, reorganized by three appointees of former President Donald Trump, ended the nation's right to abortion, ending a law like Arizona's first passed in 1864. , then accused the president of losing access to abortion.
“Today's decision to reimpose laws from a time when Arizona was not a state, the Civil War was raging, and women couldn't even vote will go down in history as a stain on the state,” Democratic Attorney General Chris Mays said in a statement. Deaf,” he said. In a statement. She vowed that prosecutors in her own office would not enforce it.
Gov. Katie Hobbs, also a Democrat, said the ruling “only creates further chaos for women and doctors in our state,” and blamed Republicans for “endless attacks on fundamental rights.” .
The decision leaves Arizona with the strictest abortion laws of the six battleground states likely to decide the next president. Georgia bans abortions after about six weeks, but Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania all allow abortions after 20 weeks.
The ruling came a day after President Trump said abortion restrictions should be left up to each state and did not support a nationwide ban after months of mixed messages and speculation.
Voters have consistently supported relaxing abortion laws when the issue directly concerns them, including in conservative states like Kansas and Kentucky. The issue is believed to have contributed to Democrats' better-than-expected results in the 2022 midterm elections.
In Arizona, the political implications of Tuesday's ruling could be far-reaching. President Joe Biden has made abortion rights a centerpiece of his campaign, as has Democratic Senate candidate Ruben Gallego.
It would also strengthen efforts by abortion rights groups to bring legislation before voters to restore abortion rights. It would also give Democrats more power over election laws in battleground states, giving Democrats a boost as they seek to win a majority in Congress.
According to AP VoteCast, a broad survey of voters, 61% of Arizona voters in the 2022 midterm elections said abortion should be legal in most or all cases. Only 6% said it should be illegal in all cases.
Two-thirds of Arizona midterm voters said the Supreme Court's overturning of Roe v. Wade was an important factor in their vote this election.
Roughly 6 in 10 Arizona voters in this election said they support legislation that would guarantee access to legal abortion across the country.
Planned Parenthood officials said they will continue to provide abortions up to 15 weeks as long as Arizona courts allow it, but that abortions will need to be scaled back in the coming months.
This ancient law was first enacted in a series of laws known as the Howell Code, adopted by the first Arizona Territorial Legislature in 1864, decades before Arizona became a state in 1912. it was done. According to legislative researchers, the law remained in the criminal code in 1901 and remains in place today. It was re-adopted in subsequent rewrites, including in the 1970s. The law allows doctors and others to be prosecuted for performing abortions at any time unless the mother's life is in danger. It does not include exceptions for rape or incest.
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Associated Press writer Lynley Sanders in Washington contributed.
