The Arizona Supreme Court said that the state can enforce a ban on almost all abortions that was put in place 160 years ago. In 1864, before Arizona became a state, a rule said that having an abortion could get you two to five years in prison, unless the mother’s life is in danger.
The decision could close all centers in the state, which would have an impact on both women’s health care and the upcoming election. In November, Arizona voters may be able to overturn the decision. The ruling came after months of legal arguments about whether the law from before the state was formed could be used again after being inactive for years. Many people said it wasn’t valid because of decades of state laws, like a law passed in 2022 that lets women have abortions up to 15 weeks into their pregnancy.
An advocacy group for free speech, Alliance Defending Freedom, challenged a lower court decision that the new law should stand. The higher court in Arizona decided to look at the case again in August 2023. The state supreme court reversed that decision on Tuesday by a vote of 4-2. It said the law from 1864 was “now enforceable” because the process was not protected by federal or state law.
Anti-abortion campaigners and the Alliance Defending Freedom both praised the decision, saying it would “protect the lives of countless, innocent unborn children.” The Arizona Supreme Court put off enforcing the law for 14 days and sent the case back to a lower court to hear more arguments. It’s still not clear how the law will be applied, though.
The Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs put the enforcement of abortion laws in the hands of the Democratic state attorney general Kris Mayes last year. Mayes has promised that Arizonans will not be prosecuted for getting or having an abortion.
On Tuesday, Ms. Mayes said the same thing again, calling the rule “draconian.” “Today’s decision to enforce a law from when Arizona wasn’t even a state, the Civil War was going on, and women couldn’t even vote will go down in history as a stain on our state,” she said. The White House and other top Democrats quickly agreed with her. Some Republicans in Arizona were also worried about the decision.