Breaking: Arizona to Enforce 1864 Ban
The state Supreme Court ruled in favor of a total abortion ban
I was really, really hoping it wouldn’t go down this way.
The Arizona Supreme Court ruled today that a 160-year-old total abortion ban is enforceable. Justice John R. Lopez IV wrote in the ruling, “in light of this Opinion, physicians are now on notice that all abortions, except those necessary to save a woman’s life, are illegal.” The law will go into effect in 45 days.
That means you can still access abortion in Arizona up to 15 weeks until that date. To donate to abortion funds in Arizona, click here.
Gov. Katie Hobbs responded to the ruling by calling it a “dark day for Arizona.” Arizona’s Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes called the decision an “unconscionable and an affront to freedom,” and said that she would not prosecute any doctors or women under the ban:
“Today’s decision to reimpose a law from a time when Arizona wasn’t a state, the civil war was raging, and women couldn’t even vote will go down in history as a stain on our state.”
You may remember that last year, Gov. Hobbs granted Mayes with the authority to prosecute abortion cases, taking that ability away from district attorneys. It was essentially a way to ensure that no one was prosecuted for abortion ‘crimes’. When furious Republicans called on Gov. Hobbs to rescind the order, she refused, saying, “I will continue to use my legal authority to protect Arizonans from extremists who want to prosecute women and doctors for their healthcare decisions.”
Now that the total abortion ban will go into effect, however, that order—and Mayes’ ability to handle all abortion cases—may be challenged by a local prosecutor. So I’ll be curious to see what happens when the ban is enacted: will doctors adhere to the law, or will they keep providing care, knowing that the AG has promised to protect them legally?
The ruling in Arizona also mirrors what’s happening in Florida—where a state Supreme Court decision allowing a 6-week ban to take effect could be repealed by a pro-choice ballot measure heading to voters. An abortion rights amendment might be in front of Arizona voters this November, as well.
Arizona for Abortion Access, a coalition of reproductive rights groups, says they’ve collected enough signatures to get their measure on the ballot. (They’ve gathered more than 500,000 signatures—over 120k more signatures than they need, with months to go before their July 3 deadline.) The proposed amendment would protect abortion rights in the state constitution up until fetal ‘viability’, after which someone could end a pregnancy if their life, physical or mental health was endangered.
You can be sure that the Arizona ruling will have an impact on 2024—from the presidential race to the U.S. Senate race, where failed Republican gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake is running. Lake supported the 1864 ban during that run, calling it a “great law.” Now—after seeing the pro-choice writing on the wall—she says that she opposes the ban.
The ruling will also hurt Donald Trump, who is trying to wash his hands of the abortion issue by claiming he believes it should be left to the states. President Joe Bide has already released a statement, calling the ruling “a result of the extreme agenda of Republican elected officials who are committed to ripping away women’s freedom.” You can be sure that as they did with Florida, the Biden-Harris re-election campaign will tie this decision to Trump’s role in overturning Roe.
As I noted when news of the Florida ruling broke, though, as ‘good’ as this is for 2024 races, it’s vital that the political angle not overtake the real human cost of the ban. People are going to suffer badly because of this ruling—and not just in Arizona. Providers have been helping abortion patients from anti-choice states like Texas; that means this decision will be incredibly damaging to millions.
Related: The Guardian points out something interesting/distressing about the language of the 1864 ban: it says that it’s illegal to help “procure the miscarriage” of a pregnant woman. We know that zealous anti-abortion activists and prosecutors want to target those who ‘aid and abet’ abortions, so I’m worried about what that language could mean.
I’ll have more for you on Arizona tonight in the regular daily report.
Thank you so much, Jessica. I know this reporting has to hurt because I know the only thing keeping me from screaming at the heavens on an hourly basis is because of your reporting. It reminds me that "someone" does "get it." But I can only imagine how exhausted you are. Sending love.
When Katie Hobbs refused to debate Kari Lake, during the gubernatorial run, people said she was weak. She sure has proven them wrong. This woman just vetos EVERYTHING that is against women's equal rights. I'm proud of the woman who I (and my family) voted for. But we'll need to take all of the extremists out this November. Kris Mays is another (mostly) unsung hero. (PS: Katie Hobbs also got rid of the leases to the Saudis who had unlimited water access to farm their (year-long) alfalfa crops (IN Arizona)!!)