- Arizona revives 1864 abortion ban after 160 years
- Strict abortion law implemented following state supreme court ruling
- Planned Parenthood vows to continue abortion provision despite ban
A legislation enacted in the territory of Arizona, United States, in 1864 effectively criminalised the vast majority of abortions.
Arizona was not even a territory when the legislation was enacted. However, after 160 years, the state supreme court has ruled that the near-total prohibition may be implemented within fourteen days.
The Tuesday court ruling would give rise to one of the most stringent state statutes regulating abortion access in the United States.
Judge John Lopez, writing for the majority in the four-to-two decision, stated that the Arizona legislature had never before recognised a right to abortion access.
“As required by the Constitution, we defer to the judgement of the legislature, which is answerable to the mutable will of our citizens and thus reflects that will,” he stated.
A previous judicial ruling had halted the implementation of the 1864 legislation; however, the hold was lifted with the decision rendered on Tuesday.
A minimum sentence of two years in prison and criminal liability may be imposed on “every person” who engages in the performance of an abortion, as stipulated by the Arizona law of 1864. Exceptions are not applicable in situations involving rape or incest, but they do exist in situations where the life of a pregnant woman is in danger.
Arizona follows fourteen other states in having nearly outlawed abortion. The conservative-dominated Supreme Court of the United States overturned federal abortion protections in 2022, leaving access to abortion mainly at the discretion of individual states.
Reproductive health advocates were alarmed by the ruling, and Democrats immediately criticised the Arizona state Supreme Court bench, which is constituted solely of justices appointed by Republican governors.
For example, Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes deemed the decision “reprehensible and a violation of the principles of liberty.” She vowed that no physician or woman would be prosecuted under the “draconian law.”
She said in a statement, “Today’s decision to reinstate a law from a time when Arizona was not a state, the Civil War was raging, and women could not even vote will be remembered as a stain on our state.
Tuesday was labelled “a dark day in Arizona” by Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, in a post on the social media platform X.
“However, I deliver the following message to women in Arizona: Until we secure the right to abortion, I will not rest, and I will not cease battling. “I solemnly pledge that to you,” she declared.
Planned Parenthood, an organisation that offers healthcare services, including abortions, is committed to maintaining its abortion provisioning operations until the law is implemented.
The group wrote on X, “Today’s deplorable decision by the state Supreme Court sets Arizona back nearly 150 years.” “Our communities will endure permanent and detrimental damage due to this ruling.” It restricts the bodily autonomy of Arizonans and outright prohibits abortion under almost all circumstances.
In 1971, Planned Parenthood challenged the abortion prohibition that had been in effect for a century.
In the seminal Roe v. Wade decision of 1973, the United States Supreme Court affirmed the federal right to abortion, a span of two years later. As a result, a judge was persuaded to support Planned Parenthood and halt the 1864 abortion prohibition.
Since then, however, the Roe v. Wade decision has been reversed, calling into doubt the right to abortion access nationwide.
Republican attorney general at the time, Mark Brnovich, challenged the court order in 2022 that effectively halted the 1864 ban. Planned Parenthood filed an appeal, which resulted in the refusal of Attorney General Mayes and Governor Hobbs to persist in the state’s defence of the prohibition upon their inauguration in 2023.
However, the legal battle to implement the prohibition from the 19th century continued. Yavapai County Attorney Dennis McGrane and pro-abortion rights obstetrician Eric Hazelrigg advocated for the 1864 prohibition in the courts with the backing of the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal organisation.
With Tuesday’s decision, the 1864 statute will take precedence over a law signed into law by Republican Governor Doug Ducey in March 2022, which prohibited the majority of abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Abortion by vote
The decision amplifies the significance of a matter that is already conspicuous on the November presidential election ballot: abortion.
Democratic President Joe Biden has positioned himself as a defender of women’s rights and reproductive health, whereas former President Donald Trump, his probable Republican opponent, has advocated for abortion restrictions.
Although Trump has expressed acquiescence to the idea of a federal abortion ban, he stated earlier this week that individual states should determine the legality of the procedure. As a result, certain conservatives have been incensed; they had anticipated that he would adopt a more resolute position against abortion on a national scale.
Biden’s campaign has accused the former president of “scrambling” to evade accountability for his abortion stance at the polls. Trump has repeatedly emphasised appointing the Supreme Court justices who overturned Roe v. Wade.
In Arizona, Biden defeated Trump by an edge of 10,000 ballots in the 2020 presidential election.
Biden criticised the Arizona prohibition in a statement issued by the White House on Tuesday, describing it as “extremely dangerous.”
He stated, “This ruling is the consequence of the radical agenda pursued by Republican elected officials who are determined to restrict the freedom of women.”
However, Arizona activists are optimistic that the matter of abortion access can be directly addressed to the electorate in November.
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According to the organisers, sufficient signatures have been collected to add a measure to the November referendum that would amend the state constitution to protect abortion rights. Recent elections have witnessed a perfect success rate for these types of referendums, attributed to galvanising Democratic voters.
Similar restrictions on abortion have been enacted in other states, with some preparing for a potential confrontation on the ballots in November.
Last week, for instance, the Florida Supreme Court upheld a six-week prohibition on abortion in the state. According to critics, six weeks is insufficient time for most women to determine whether or not they are expectant.
However, on the same day, the Florida Supreme Court approved a ballot initiative that would have granted electors the opportunity also to determine whether the state constitution should protect abortion rights.
