- Arizona House Votes 32-28 to Repeal 160-Year-Old Law Banning Abortion
- The state Supreme Court ruled that the 1864 law could apply April 9
The Arizona House of Representatives voted to repeal the 1864 law that banned abortion in almost all cases just weeks after the state Supreme Court issued a controversial decision that sparked outrage across the country.
The House voted to repeal the 160-year-old law, and three Republicans crossed party lines to vote with Democrats. It was the third attempt to repeal the law.
The legislation now heads to the Republican-controlled state Senate.
Arizona’s Democratic governor, Katie Hobbs, has been urging the Republican-controlled legislature to pass legislation repealing the Civil War-era law since the state Supreme Court made the decision that the law could apply , generating shock waves throughout the country.
Abortion rights protesters gathered outside the Arizona Capitol on April 17, 2024.
Anti-abortion rights protesters outside the Arizona State Capitol before the House voted to repeal the 1864 law banning abortion.
Democrats in the state legislature have been urging for three weeks to repeal the law that was on the books before Arizona even became a state.
In recent weeks, Republicans blocked two previous efforts to repeal the 1864 law.
On Wednesday, three House Republicans voted on HB2677 along with Democrats. The final vote was 32 to 28.
A House Democrat returned to the Capitol to vote to repeal the law despite having knee replacement surgery the day before.
The Senate appears to have the support necessary to repeal the law.
“I am delighted that the House has finally decided to do the right thing and repeal the archaic 1864 near-total abortion ban, which would have imprisoned doctors and threatened women’s lives,” Gov. Katie Hobbs posted on X.
‘It’s time for the Senate to do the same and send the repeal to my desk. Immediately,’ he said.
Spectators in the gallery say the pledge of allegiance before House Democrats take action to repeal the 1864 law banning nearly all abortions.
On April 9, the state’s highest court ruled that the law banning early abortion could be enforced in all cases, with limited exceptions to save the mother’s life. The law does not include exceptions for rape or incest.
It paved the way for Arizona to have one of the strictest abortion bans in the country since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in 2022, ending the federal right to abortion and returning the issue to the states.
After the ruling was handed down, Democrats and some Republican leaders criticized the decision, leaving state lawmakers in a bind.
Vice President Kamala Harris traveled to the state where she placed blame for the law squarely on former President Trump and accused Republicans of wanting to take the state back to the 19th century.
Trump, while touting the overturning of Roe v Wade by the Supreme Court justices he nominated, also said the state court’s decision went too far.
He suggested state lawmakers would move quickly to repeal it, but the effort has taken weeks and Republican lawmakers blocked the efforts multiple times before Wednesday’s House vote.
Republican Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma pauses to watch the vote count as the House moves to repeal Arizona’s near-total ban on abortion. He voted against the measure.
In response to Wednesday’s vote, the Republican speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives issued a statement saying he disagrees with his Democratic colleagues on the issue.
‘I am deeply disappointed. “As I have said before, Democrats apparently believe that abortions should be performed without limits or regulations,” said Chairman Ben Toma.
After the vote, House Republicans expelled GOP Rep. Matt Gress, who voted to repeal the law, from his committee assignments.
In a statement after his vote, Gress said the House acted on a “bipartisan basis to repeal our state’s territorial abortion law that is unworkable and not in line with the values ​​of Arizonans.”
Advocates in Arizona are working to get the abortion issue directly on the November ballot. They have already gathered enough signatures for their petition.
After the House voted and only three Republicans joined Democrats, Arizona for Abortion Access issued a statement reiterating the need for the ballot measure.
“We remain committed to taking these decisions out of the hands of extremist politicians and winning at the polls this November,” said campaign manager Cheryl Bruce.