OAN’s Chloe Hawkswell
12:10pm – Tuesday, April 9, 2024
The Arizona Supreme Court has decided to uphold nearly all abortion bans in the state.
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The court ruled Tuesday that abortion is illegal in all cases except when the mother’s life is at risk.
At the heart of the debate was the 1846 law. The 160-year-old anti-abortion law predates Arizona’s existence.
The 1864 law was recodified in 1901 and 1913, making it a felony to perform or induce an abortion.
This judgment will not be enforced for 14 days.
The state’s attorney general issued a statement following the verdict. Sen. Chris Mays (D-Ariz.) said neither the doctor nor the woman would be prosecuted while he is attorney general.
“The Arizona Supreme Court’s decision today is unconscionable and an affront to liberty,” Mays said in a statement. “Make no mistake, by effectively repealing a century-old law and replacing it with a 160-year-old law, the court put the health and lives of Arizonans at risk. The Court of Appeal’s decision is well reasoned and consistent with the way courts harmonize different laws.”
“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 our state,” she continued. “While this is far from the end of the reproductive freedom debate, I look forward to hearing Arizonans speak out on this issue. And let me be clear, as long as I am Attorney General, No woman or doctor in this state will be prosecuted under this draconian law.”
The opinion was filed as a ballot measure scheduled for a vote this November. Abortion may be possible up to the 24th week of pregnancy.
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