A ruling by the Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday that could eliminate virtually all abortions in the state puts the issue at the center of a 2024 battleground battle between the president-elect and the Senate majority. It will play an important role in determining the faction.
Democrats immediately pounced on the ruling, allowing the law, first passed in 1864, to go into effect. The law allows doctors and others to be prosecuted for performing abortions at any time unless the mother's life is in danger, and does not include exceptions for rape or incest. Democrats responded after the U.S. Supreme Court, reorganized by three former President Donald Trump appointees, struck down federally guaranteed abortion rights and allowed states like Arizona to enforce laws. He blamed Trump for 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.
The decision leaves Arizona with the strictest abortion laws of the six battleground states heading into November's election. Joe Biden campaigns for restoration of abortion rights as President Trump avoids support for a national abortion ban and publicly warns that the issue could lead to losses for the Republican Party This could be politically advantageous for the president and his allies.
“We will continue to fight to protect reproductive rights and urge Congress to pass legislation that restores Roe v. Wade's protections,” Biden said in a statement shortly after the court's decision was announced.
Georgia bans abortions after about six weeks, but Nevada, Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania all allow abortions after 20 weeks.
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, also a Democrat, said the ruling “will only cause further chaos for women and doctors in our state,” and blamed Republicans for “endless attacks on fundamental rights.” did.
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 abortion rights when directly questioned, 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. Biden, like Democratic Sen. Ruben Gallego, has made abortion rights a centerpiece of his campaign. He will strengthen efforts by abortion rights groups to bring legislation before voters to restore abortion rights.
“This is going to intensify signature gathering,” said Ezra Levin, co-founder of the progressive group Indivisible. The group is involved in an effort this fall to add an Arizona ballot measure that enshrines a constitutional right to abortion.
Levin said the group collecting signatures has already collected the 384,000 valid signatures needed by July 4 and is currently aiming to reach 800,000 signatures by July. He said there was.
The legislation is likely to be a boost for Democrats as they seek to win a majority in Congress, giving them more control over election laws in battleground states.
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.
