The Arizona House made a significant move on Wednesday by passing a bill that aims to repeal the state’s long-standing near-total abortion ban from 1864. In a surprising turn of events, several Republicans joined forces with all the chamber’s Democrats in supporting this legislation. This decision marks a significant step towards addressing the issue of reproductive rights in the state of Arizona.
In the span of three weeks, there have been three attempts to repeal the bill. Unfortunately, the previous endeavors were unsuccessful as Republicans prevented the bill from being put up for a vote.
Related posts
The bill was able to pass this time with a vote of 32-28. State Representatives Tim Dunn and Justin Wilmeth, both Republicans, along with Matt Gress and all Democrats, united to go against state Speaker Ben Toma and the rest of the GOP caucus.
Last week, Gress stood out as the lone Republican who joined House Democrats in their determined effort to repeal the abortion ban. In order to proceed, the Democrats required the support of at least two Republicans who were willing to cross party lines.
The bill has been passed by the House and is now on its way to the Senate. In order for the bill to pass in the Senate, it will need the support of at least two Republicans. However, the Senate has already started working on its own version of the repeal bill, which is identical to the one passed by the House. This indicates that the bill could be passed by the Senate as early as next week.
If the bill is passed, it will be sent to Gov. Katie Hobbs (D), who has urged the Legislature to repeal the law.
During the session, Toma criticized Hobbs and urged her to revoke the executive order that prohibits attorneys general from enforcing the law.
“I’m extremely disappointed,” Toma expressed his dissatisfaction during the vote. “As I’ve mentioned earlier, it seems that Democrats hold the belief that abortion should be allowed without any limits or regulations. I strongly disagree with this perspective. The majority of Arizonans do not support unrestricted abortion.”
Republican lawmakers expressed strong criticism towards their party members who voted in favor of the Democrats.
“We are prepared to sacrifice the lives of infants in order to secure victory in an election. When we consider it in this light, it becomes considerably more difficult to accept, doesn’t it? Moreover, allowing abortion to be legalized until the moment of birth will not contribute to our success in any election,” expressed state Representative Alexander Kolodin (R). “While politics holds immense significance, it should never come at the expense of our moral values.”
Kolodin’s remarks bring attention to the political dilemma that Arizona conservatives are facing after the revival of the 1800s abortion law by the state Supreme Court earlier this month.
Some Republicans, including former President Trump and Senate hopeful Kari Lake, are advocating for the repeal of the Civil War-era ban. They understand that the opposition to this law from 1864 could potentially disrupt conservative majorities in the state and have a negative impact on Trump’s campaign in this pivotal swing state.
During her 2022 campaign for governor of Arizona, Lake expressed her support for the 1864 measure, referring to it as a “great law.”
House Speaker Pro Tem Travis Grantham (R) expressed his pride in the resilience of the Republican caucus, as they have successfully resisted this challenge for an extended period of time.
“I believe there was no rush to make this decision. It won’t have any immediate impact for at least four to five months. In my opinion, the timing of this move is unfortunate. I strongly disagree with it,” expressed Grantham. “I hope that those in favor of this decision are satisfied now, but I urge them to vote against any future legislation that seeks to expand abortion rights in our state.”
The repeal, however, cannot be implemented until 90 days after the legislative session concludes, and as of now, there is no set end date for the session. Therefore, it is expected that the 1864 law will come into effect no earlier than June 8.
Abortion-rights advocates have been collecting signatures in order to put forth a referendum on the ballot, which aims to safeguard access to abortion services until the point of fetal viability, typically around 24 weeks into pregnancy.
Republicans are currently pushing for their own legislation aimed at restricting abortion access. The proposed bill seeks to limit abortions to 15 weeks or possibly even as early as six weeks. If both chambers of the Legislature manage to pass the bill with identical language, it will automatically be included on the ballot for the November election.
Arizona state Rep. David Marshall (R) made an unsubstantiated claim that the effort to expand abortion access had an underlying racist motive, specifically targeting Black women as a means of population control.
