Arizona House votes to repeal the state's near-total abortion ban Los Angeles Times

Table Of Content

• states challenge federal rules entitling workers to accommodations for abortion
• Arizona House of Representatives
• Arizona house votes to repeal state’s near-total ban on abortion
• Arizona House approves repeal of pre-statehood abortion ban, sending it to Senate
• How treatment of miscarriages is upending the abortion debate

After Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022, then-Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, a Republican, persuaded a state judge that the 1864 ban could be enforced. Still, the law hasn’t actually been enforced while the case was making its way through the courts. Brnovich’s Democratic successor, Attorney General Kris Mayes, urged the state’s high court against reviving the law.

states challenge federal rules entitling workers to accommodations for abortion

Three Republicans in the House — Reps. Matt Gress, Tim Dunn and Justin Wilmeth — crossed party lines Wednesday to vote with all of the chamber’s Democrats. After the vote, the speaker removed Gress from a coveted assignment to the House Appropriations Committee. House Republicans have not yet publicly released any such proposed ballot measures. After Roe v Wade was overturned in June 2022, the then Arizona attorney general, Mark Brnovich, a Republican, persuaded a state judge that the 1864 ban could be enforced.

Arizona House of Representatives

Arizona House votes to repeal abortion ban - POLITICO

Arizona House votes to repeal abortion ban.

Posted: Wed, 24 Apr 2024 19:32:02 GMT [source]

The move follows weeks of effort by Democrats in the state legislature to undo the law, while the issue increasingly put Republicans on the defensive in a key battleground state. The vote came after weeks of mounting pressure on Republicans in a battleground state during a presidential election year. The other Republican who supported the repeal measure, state Rep. Justin Wilmeth, didn’t return an email and phone call seeking comment on the vote. Caroline Helton, a 64-year-old from Mesa, said she was deeply concerned about a referendum likely to appear on the ballot in November that would protect abortion until the point of viability, or around 24 weeks. “I am hopeful the Senate does the right thing and sends it to my desk so I can sign it,” Hobbs said. Should that happen, she said she is “hopeful” that the state Supreme Court views any repeal as a reason to continue to stay the old law.

Arizona house votes to repeal state’s near-total ban on abortion

GOP-controlled Arizona House votes to repeal Civil War-era abortion ban - The Hill

GOP-controlled Arizona House votes to repeal Civil War-era abortion ban.

Posted: Wed, 24 Apr 2024 19:30:00 GMT [source]

The ruling suggested doctors could be prosecuted under the law first approved in 1864, which carries a sentence of two to five years in prison for anyone who assists in an abortion. The Arizona Supreme Court concluded the state can enforce a long-dormant law that permits abortions only to save the pregnant patient’s life. Several Republicans who support the 1864 abortion ban expressed extreme frustration with their colleagues who crossed party lines to repeal the law. Reproductive rights advocates say the issue has mobilized voters and report that people are seeking out signature-gatherers and asking about locations where their friends and family can sign to put abortion access on the ballot.

Arizona House advances a repeal of the state’s near-total abortion ban to the Senate

The Arizona supreme court earlier this month concluded the state could enforce a long-dormant law that permits abortions only to save the pregnant patient’s life. The ruling suggested doctors could be prosecuted under the law, first approved in 1864, and that anyone who assists in an abortion could face two to five years in prison. With two Republican senators already supporting repeal, Democrats say they believe they will prevail. Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat and a vocal supporter of abortion rights, has been urging lawmakers to repeal the 1864 law and is expected to sign a repeal if it reaches her desk. Three Republicans joined in with all 29 Democrats Wednesday to repeal a law that predated Arizona’s statehood and provides no exceptions for rape or incest.

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It was later revived by the state’s highest court April 9, inciting national uproar and political panic among Republicans who worry that the ban will hurt their chances of winning elections this year, including the presidential contest. The Arizona House voted Wednesday to repeal a Civil War-era ban on nearly all abortions that is set to take effect as early as June 8. The measure now heads to the state Senate, which could grant final passage next week.

Arizona House approves repeal of pre-statehood abortion ban, sending it to Senate

They have collected about 500,000 signatures, more than the almost 384,000 needed to put it on the ballot. A week ago, one Republican in the Arizona house joined 29 Democrats to bring the repeal measure to a vote, but the effort failed twice on votes. Three Republicans joined with all 29 Democrats on Wednesday to support the repeal of the law, which predates Arizona’s statehood and provides no exceptions for rape or incest. Dozens of people gathered outside the state Capitol before the House and Senate were scheduled to meet, many carrying signs or wearing shirts showing their opposition to abortion rights. The almost-complete ban on abortions in the state could go into effect as soon as June 8 if the State Legislature does not repeal it, the state’s attorney general said.

If the Senate approves as expected, Arizona would allow abortions up to 15 weeks. The civil-war era law had been blocked since the US supreme court’s 1973 Roe v Wade decision guaranteed the constitutional right to an abortion nationwide. Lawmakers in the Arizona house have voted to repeal a controversial 1864 law banning nearly all abortions, amid mounting pressure on the state’s Republicans. Arizona took a major step on Wednesday toward scrapping an 1864 law banning abortion, when three Republican lawmakers in the state House of Representatives broke ranks with their party and voted with Democrats to repeal the ban. Dozens of people gathered outside the state Capitol before the House and Senate were scheduled to meet, then filled seats in the public gallery as lawmakers voted, many of them carrying signs or wearing shirts showing their opposition to abortion rights.

Three Republicans crossed party lines to vote with Democrats. If passed by Senate, Arizona governor says she will sign.

The Republican-controlled Arizona House on Wednesday approved a repeal of an 1864 abortion law that would have banned nearly all abortions, sending the measure to the state Senate. Three Republicans joined all 29 Democrats on Wednesday to repeal a law that predated Arizona’s statehood and provides no exceptions for rape, including incest. Democrats and abortion-rights groups celebrated the vote as an important move toward undoing what they called a draconian intrusion into women’s rights.

Planned Parenthood officials vowed to continue providing abortions while they are still legal and said they will reinforce networks that help patients travel to places such as New Mexico and California to access abortion. Newsom-backed bill would allow Arizona abortion providers to practice in California as the Republican-led state restricts access. “I’m not completely antiabortion, but they have gone too far,” said Helton, who hopes her legislators will ultimately agree to preserve the 15-week law that is in effect. And I tell them, moms are the most important signature here, because they understand what this issue is, and what pregnancy does to the body, what pregnancy does to your life,” Susan Anthony, who has been gathering signatures in Arizona, told the Guardian. Many abortion providers in the state had vowed to continue providing the procedure until the ban went into effect. In neighboring California, providers were gearing up to treat Arizona patients seeking abortion care.

The 1864 law outlaws abortions from the moment of conception except to save the mother’s life, and it makes no exceptions for cases of rape or incest. Advocates are collecting signatures for a ballot measure allowing abortions until a fetus could survive outside the womb, typically around 24 weeks, with exceptions — to save the parent’s life, or to protect her physical or mental health. After the state Supreme Court ruling, Cathi Herrod, the president of the conservative Center for Arizona Policy, argued that abortion is not the defining political issue Democrats are making it out to be. Herrod is a leading voice in the opposition to abortion and for decades has shaped the state’s conversation on reproductive laws. The battle over abortion access in Arizona will ultimately be decided in November. Abortion-rights advocates are pushing to ask Arizona voters to create a constitutional right to abortion.

In the hours after the decision, several GOP state lawmakers issued statements condemning the 1864 law and urging their colleagues to repeal it; they included Gress and Sens. Shawnna Bolick and T.J. Earlier this month, the state Supreme Court ruled that the highly-restrictive 160-year-old law that bans nearly all abortions can be enforced — blocking the procedure in all cases except to save the life of the mother. The 1864 law is set to go into effect on June 8, and it would supersede what had been the current 15-week abortion ban. Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision guaranteed the constitutional right to an abortion nationwide.

Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.Copyright © 2024 Northern Arizona MLS. The data relating to real estate for sale on this website comes in part from the Internet Data exchange (IDX) program of the Western Arizona Realtor Data Exchange (WARDEX). Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.Copyright © 2024 Western Arizona Realtor Data Exchange (WARDEX). The proposed constitutional amendment would guarantee abortion rights until a fetus could survive outside the uterus, typically around 24 weeks. It also would allow later abortions to save the patient’s life or to protect their physical or mental health.

If the proposed repeal wins final approval from the Republican-controlled Senate and is signed into law by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, a 2022 statute banning the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy would become the prevailing abortion law. A proposed repeal of Arizona’s near-total ban on abortions has won approval from the state House, clearing its first hurdle two weeks after a court concluded the state can enforce the 1864 law, which only offers an exception for saving the patient’s life. If the proposed repeal wins final approval from the Republican-controlled Legislature and is signed into law by Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, a 2022 statute banning the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy would become the prevailing abortion law.

“Make no mistake, Arizonans are living in 1864 now because Donald Trump dismantled Roe v. Wade,” said Democratic state Sen. Priya Sundareshan of Tucson. The repeal effort comes a day after Biden said Trump created a “healthcare crisis for women all over this country” by imperiling their access to care. California Gov. Gavin Newsom and several lawmakers said Wednesday they’ll push for legislation temporarily allowing Arizona doctors to perform abortions for their own patients in the neighboring state. The Speaker is elected by the majority party caucus along with the Majority Leader, the Assistant Majority Leader, and the Majority Whip. The House as a whole shall pass a House resolution confirming the Speaker and the Chief Clerk of the House.[2] In addition to presiding over the body, the Speaker is also the chief leadership position, and controls the flow of legislation and committee assignments. The minority party selects a Minority Leader, an Assistant Minority Leader and a Minority Whip in a closed caucus.

If the proposed repeal is signed into law by the Democratic governor, Katie Hobbs, a 2022 statute banning the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy would become the prevailing abortion law. Republicans had repeatedly used procedural votes to block earlier repeal efforts, each time drawing condemnation from President Biden, a Democrat who has made his support for abortion rights central to his reelection campaign. The breakthrough came Wednesday when a second Republican joined all Democrats in voting to overrule the GOP House speaker, who has steadfastly blocked repeal. GOP anxieties about the politics of a near-total abortion ban have led to an unlikely, albeit temporary, alliance between Democrats, a small number of Republican lawmakers mostly in swing districts and allies of former president Donald Trump — including U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake, who had initially reversed her position on the ban and made personal appeals to GOP lawmakers, urging them to repeal the law.