Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has signed legislation repealing the state's abortion ban with the help of five Republican state legislators.
The 1864 law, a Civil War-era rule, outlaws abortion from the moment of conception, except when necessary to save the mother's life and without exceptions for cases of rape or incest. The law threatens abortion providers with prison sentences of between two to five years. The law was passed before Arizona was even a state by the territorial legislature. (Related: Federal appeals court temporarily limits Idaho’s near-total abortion ban due to ongoing legal proceedings.)
On April 24, Arizona Democrats' third attempt to get the state House of Representatives to repeal the law succeeded by a narrow vote of 32 to 28, with three Republicans – State Reps. Tim Dunn (R-Yuma), Matt Gress (R-Phoenix) and Justin Wilmeth (R-Phoenix) – joining state House Democrats and bypassing Speaker Ben Toma (R-Glendale).
A week later, the State Senate passed the repeal legislation by a razor-thin margin of 16 to 14 following the defection of two majority senators, Shawnna Bolick (R-Phoenix) and T.J. Shope (R-Coolidge).
Bolick, a staunch anti-abortion advocate, tried to justify her decision during the May 1 hearing, delivering a speech about her own difficult pregnancies, including one that ended in a miscarriage that had to be aborted during the first trimester because the child was not viable. Bolick then explained that she is in favor of a 15-week abortion ban, and believes the 1864 law is too draconian and, if given a choice, she would vote for more permissive abortion legislation.
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"We should be pushing for the maximum protection for unborn children that can be sustained," Bolick said.
On Thursday, May 2, Hobbs signed the repeal legislation into law. The repeal will go into effect 90 days after the current legislative session ends. Once the repeal is official, Arizona will revert to its previous 15-week ban on abortion, which also lacks exceptions for cases of rape or incest.
"Today, we should not rest. We should recommit to protecting women's bodily autonomy, their ability to make their own health care decisions and the ability to control their lives," Hobbs said during the repeal's signing ceremony.
Arizona GOP senators slam defectors
Republicans criticized the defectors and voiced opposition to Democrats and a potential ballot initiative that would enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution.
According to Sen. Anthony Kern (R-Glendale), it was "insanity" for Republicans like Bolick and Shope to claim to be pro-life while voting to repeal the ban. Kern even suggested that the vote could lead to acceptance of pedophilia.
Similarly, Sen. Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek) praised the 1864 law as one of the best and strongest pro-life measures in the country. He expressed disgust at Republicans crossing party lines on the abortion issue.
State Republicans are expected to introduce a ballot measure to limit abortions to either 15 weeks or a more restrictive six weeks. If both chambers of the Legislature agree to the proposal, it will automatically be on the ballot in November.
Visit Abortions.news for more stories about abortion bans in the United States.
Watch this clip from "Judging Freedom" as Judge Andrew Napolitano discusses how legalizing abortion changed America.
This video is from the channel What Is Happening on Brighteon.com.
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