The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a 160-year ban on abortion may be imposed clearing the way for a near total ban on abortion in the state.
The 1864 ban had exceptions to save the mother’s life, but none in cases of rape or incest.
“The question of abortion implicates moral and public policy concerns and invariably inspires lively debate and generates passionate disagreement among citizens,” the Arizona decision concluded.
The ban will replace a Ban on 15-week abortion which was signed into law in 2022. This law includes exemptions in cases of medical emergencies and has restrictions on medication abortions and requires pre-abortion ultrasounds and parental consent for minors.
Arizona Attorney General Chris Mayes, a Democrat, issued a statement Tuesday calling the decision “unconscionable and an assault on liberty” and said that “as long as I am attorney general, no woman or doctor will be prosecuted under this draconian law in this state .”
The law states that “a person who provides, supplies or administers to a pregnant woman, or causes such woman to take any drug, drug or substance, or uses or employs any instrument or other means, with intent to means of procuring a miscarriage of such woman, unless necessary to save her life, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than two years and not more than five years.”
Matt York/AP
It dates back to before Arizona became a state.
The decision has already drawn criticism from both Democrats and Republicans.
“I signed the 15-week law as governor because it is a thoughtful conservative policy and approach to this very sensitive issue that Arizonans can actually agree on. Today’s decision is not the outcome I would have preferred, and I urge our elected leaders to listen to the will of the people and address this issue with policies that work and reflect our electorate,” Doug Ducey, former Republican governor of Arizona, posted on X.
Republican Senate candidate Carrie Lake issued a statement opposing the decision, and she called on Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs and the state legislature to “come up with an immediate, common-sense solution that Arizonans can support.” Lake’s statement shows how serious the issue has become for Republicans, as Lake has in the past called abortion the “supreme sin” and when Texas passed its restrictive abortion law, Lake posted on social media, “well done Texas. Arizona is next. ”
Her rival, state Sen. Ruben Gallego, called the decision “devastating for Arizona women and their families” and tried to pin the decision on Lake and Republicans.
Efforts are underway to enshrine abortion rights in the Arizona state constitution. Arizona’s abortion access bill announced last week that they had enough signatures to put their amendment on the ballot.
“So, you know, there are opportunities for voters to fix this, and you’ve seen every state since Dobbs that when voters have a chance to weigh in, they vote in favor of abortion,” Jill Habig, president of the Public Rights Project, which represented one of the litigants from Tuesday’s ruling, told CBS News. “But in the meantime, you have tens of thousands of people who are pregnant or about to become pregnant, who will either have to drive or fly or get sick to get care, and their health will be very much at risk.”
The Arizona ruling follows a Florida Supreme Court ruling allowing a six-week abortion ban to go into effect and underscores the increased politicization of abortion rights since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, effectively returning the issue back to states.
President Biden’s re-election campaign has already condemned the decision, as his campaign has pushed to make abortion rights a central part of his administration and his re-election bid.
In response to the decision, the Biden campaign posted on X that it was “made possible by Trump ending Roe v. Wade,” a reference to former President Donald Trump appointing three conservative Supreme Court justices during his term presidency.
