Arizona House passes bill to repeal 1864 abortion law. Will its Senate do the same?

A bill repealing Arizona’s 1864 abortion law headed to the state Senate on Wednesday. It’s the third attempt to repeal the law in the last three weeks.

Earlier this month, the Arizona Supreme Court upheld a law passed in 1864 banning abortions in every case except when it’s necessary to save the mother. There are no exceptions for rape or incest and a person who provides an abortion could face prison terms of two to five years if prosecuted.

Arizona House Democrats and three House Republicans voted for the repeal bill Wednesday. Republicans have a narrow majority in the state Senate, so in order for the Arizona Legislature to repeal the bill, at least two Republicans would have to vote to repeal it.

It’s expected Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs will sign the bill if it lands on her desk.

President Joe Biden has issued a statement stating his opposition to the Arizona abortion law. Biden, who supports a federal right to abortion, said, “We will continue to fight to protect reproductive rights and call on Congress to pass a law restoring the protections of Roe v. Wade for women in every state.”

Former President Donald Trump, whose position on abortion is that it should be left to the states, said the Arizona law has gone too far. “It’ll be straightened out and as you know, it’s all about states’ rights. It’ll be straightened out, and I’m sure that the governor and everybody else are going to bring it back into reason and that’ll be taken care of, I think, very quickly,” he told reporters as The Associated Press reported.

Tim Dunn, a Republican representative who voted to repeal the 1864 law, said in a statement that he is “deeply pro-life,” but he thought the 1864 law went too far and would backfire. “The public backlash would result in codifying disturbing and unlimited abortions in the Arizona Constitution, which is something that I cannot allow to happen,” Dunn said in a statement.

Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma has come out in support of the 1864 law and urged the House to slow down on the bill.

“Not all the Republicans, obviously, agree on every issue, and this is one that we disagree on, and I happen to think that abortion is wrong,” Toma told The New York Times. “It comes down to: What do I think is right? What is just? What is ethical? And I have made my decision. And I am not going to change my mind.”

It would take at least two Senate Republicans breaking ranks with the GOP caucus to pass the repeal bill. Upon the potential repeal of the 1864 law, the state would allow access to abortion for up to 15 weeks.

The Senate is expected to look at the bill when it meets next week. The clock is ticking, as the repeal bill, if passed, would only go into effect 90 days after the Arizona Legislature adjourns.

Arizona voters may have a couple of referendums on their November ballots to consider, The Hill reported. Some abortion rights advocates are attempting to gather enough signatures to obtain a referendum to protect abortion up to the point of fetal viability (roughly 24 weeks) and others are looking to introduce a different referendum to ban abortion after either six or 15 weeks.

The Arizona Right to Life group called the state Supreme Court’s decision “a huge win” in a post on Facebook. The group staged a demonstration at the Arizona Capitol last week “to uphold the rights of the most vulnerable humans of our society,” as the group said in a post.

Angela Florez, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Arizona, called the state Supreme Court’s decision “deplorable” in a statement. “While today we feel frustrated and dismayed with the Court for stripping our legal right to essential health care, we must harness our anger and take action.”

In the meantime, due to a moratorium period, the state cannot enforce the Arizona abortion law until June 8. Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a statement that her office is looking at every legal avenue to block the law from taking effect. Mayes’ office filed a motion for reconsideration Tuesday contesting parts of the majority opinion from the Arizona Supreme Court.

“I call on the Senate to quickly follow suit and join the House in repealing this law,” said Mayes. “Unfortunately, without an emergency clause that would allow the repeal to take effect quickly, we may still be looking at a period of time when the 1864 law could potentially take effect.”

Politicians and advocates outside of Arizona have also mobilized on the issue — some in support of the 1864 law, others against it. California Gov. Gavin Newsom along with the California Women’s Caucus announced that they were introducing legislation to allow Arizona abortion providers to come to California with patients from Arizona to perform their abortions.

The bill would place Arizona abortion providers under the oversight of the California Medical Board and the Osteopathic Medical Board. If the California Legislature passes the bill, it would go into effect when Newsom signs it.

Lila Rose, president and founder of Live Action, indicated her support of the law in a statement. “This ruling rightly recognizes life by protecting preborn children and their mothers from more unjust violence against them.”