• This Wednesday, Arizona lawmakers revoked a century and a half-old law that banned nearly all abortions.
• GOP Lawmakers are considering adding 14-week and six-week abortion bans to November ballot.
The 1864 statute, recently reinstated by the state supreme court, has placed abortion at the forefront of the battleground state’s agenda and rallied Democrats aiming to safeguard abortion rights.
In the state senate, Democrats gained support from two Republicans in favour of abolishing the ban. Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs is expected to sign the repeal into law, following its narrow passage in the Arizona House last week, with three Republicans joining all Democrats in support.
Antony Kern, a Republican indicted as a fraudulent elector in a scheme to challenge the 2020 election results, labelled his fellow Republicans supporting the ban as “the epitome of delusion.” He argued that the vote would lead the state towards endorsing pedophilia, drawing cheers from supporters in the gallery with muted applause. Kern also likened the chamber’s decision to repeal the bill to actions taken by Nazi Germany.
JD Mesnard, another Republican senator, presented a sonogram recording of his child’s heartbeat during the session. He remarked, “These heartbeats will become fewer.”
Republican Shawnna Bolick delivered a 20-minute address advocating for her vote to endorse the repeal, weaving personal anecdotes about her pregnancies and others’ experiences, along with critiques of the state’s Democratic governor. Ultimately, she contended that rescinding the ban would enable Republicans to uphold a more moderate stance on abortion restrictions. She stated: “We should be pushing for the maximum protection for unborn children that can be sustained. I side with saving more babies’ lives.”
Abortion rights proponents have stressed that simply overturning the prohibition is insufficient. “This is an important step, but our work isn’t done,” stated Ruben Gallego, a congressman representing Arizona and a candidate for the US Senate. “Arizona women deserve better. That’s why we’re going to pass a constitutional right to abortion and defeat anti-abortion extremists.”
The matter has exerted significant pressure on the Arizona GOP, particularly from conservative factions backing the prohibition.
Republican legislators are contemplating presenting one or more alternative abortion propositions for inclusion on the November ballot, such as a 14-week ban and a “heartbeat protection act” prohibiting abortion after six weeks. However, as of now, no such measures have been formally introduced.
