Arizona waves goodbye to 1864 abortion ban with governor poised to sign repeal

Arizona state senator Shawnna Bolick, R-District 2, speaks, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, at the Capitol in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona is waving goodbye to a Civil War-era ban of nearly all abortions as a repeal bill reaches the desk of Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs.

Hobbs says the repeal, scheduled for signing on Thursday, is just the beginning of a fight to protect reproductive healthcare in Arizona. But the repeal may not take effect until 90 days after the end of the legislative session, in June or July. Abortion rights advocates hope a court will step in to prevent that outcome.

The effort to repeal the ban won final legislative approval Wednesday in a 16-14 vote of the Senate, as two GOP lawmakers joined with Democrats.

Arizona state senator Jake Hoffman, R-District 15, motions as he speaks to the Senate President, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, at the Capitol in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

The vote extended for hours as senators described their motivations in personal, emotional and even biblical terms — including graphic descriptions of abortion procedures and amplified audio recordings of a fetal heartbeat, along with warnings against the dangers of “legislating religious beliefs.”

Arizona state senator J. D. Mesnard, R-District 13, plays audio of a heart beat from his cell phone, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, at the Capitol in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

At the same time Wednesday, supporters of a South Dakota abortion rights initiative submitted far more signatures than required to make the ballot this fall, while in Florida a ban took effect against most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, before many women even know they are pregnant.

Democratic Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, an opponent of the near-total abortion ban, has said the earliest the dormant abortion-ban law could be enforced is June 27, though she has asked the state’s highest court to block enforcement until sometime in late July. But the anti-abortion group defending the ban, Alliance Defending Freedom, maintains county prosecutors can begin enforcing it once the Supreme Court’s decision becomes final, which hasn’t yet occurred.

Arizona state senator Eva Burch, D-District 9, looks on, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, at the Capitol in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

The near-total ban, which predates Arizona’s statehood, permits abortions only to save the patient’s life and provides no exceptions for survivors of rape or incest. In a ruling last month, the Arizona Supreme Court suggested doctors could be prosecuted under the law first approved in 1864, which carries a sentence of two to five years in prison for anyone who assists in an abortion.

Democratic Arizona state senators hug after a their vote, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, at the Capitol in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

A repeal means that a 2022 statute banning the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy would become Arizona’s prevailing abortion law.

Physician Ronald Yunis, a Phoenix-based obstetrician gynecologist who also provides abortions, called the repeal a positive development for women who might otherwise leave Arizona for medical care.

“This is good for ensuring that women won’t have to travel to other states just to get the health care they need,” Yunis said. “I was not too concerned because I have a lot of confidence in our governor and attorney general. I’m certain they will continue finding ways to protect women.”

Arizona is one of a handful of battleground states that will decide the next president. Former President Donald Trump, who has warned that the issue could lead to Republican losses, has avoided endorsing a national abortion ban but said he’s proud to have appointed the Supreme Court justices who allowed states to outlaw it.

Arizona state senator Jake Hoffman, R-District 15, speaks Wednesday, May 1, 2024, at the Capitol in Phoenix. Democrats secured enough votes in the Arizona Senate to repeal a Civil War-era ban on abortions that the state’s highest court recently allowed to take effect. (AP Photo/Matt York)

President Joe Biden’s campaign team believes anger over the fall of Roe v. Wade gives them a political advantage in battleground states like Arizona, while the issue has divided Republican leaders.

Abortion-ban advocates in the Senate on Wednesday gallery jeered and interrupted state Republican state Sen. Shawnna Bolick as she explained her vote in favor of repeal, joining with Democrats. Bolick is married to state Supreme Court Justice Clint Bolick, who voted in April to allow a 1864 law on abortion to be enforced again. He confronts a retention election in November.

The 19th century law had been blocked since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision guaranteed the constitutional right to an abortion nationwide.

After Roe v. Wade was overturned in June 2022, then-Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, a Republican, persuaded a state judge that the 1864 ban could be enforced. Still, the law hasn’t actually been enforced while the case was making its way through the courts.

Planned Parenthood Arizona filed a motion Wednesday afternoon that asks the state Supreme Court to prevent a pause in abortion services until the Legislature’s repeal takes effect.

Advocates are collecting signatures for a ballot measure allowing abortions until a fetus could survive outside the womb, typically around 24 weeks, with exceptions — to save the parent’s life, or to protect her physical or mental health.

Republican lawmakers, in turn, are considering putting one or more competing abortion proposals on the November ballot.

FILE – The Arizona Senate building at the state Capitol stands, April 11, 2024, in Phoenix. Democrats at the Arizona Legislature are expected to make a final push Wednesday, May 1, to repeal the state’s long-dormant ban on nearly all abortions that a court said can be enforced. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

FILE – Pro-life demonstrators walk in the front of the Arizona Capitol prior to the vote on the proposed repeal of the state’s near-total ban on abortions prior to winning approval from the state House on, April 24, 2024, in Phoenix. Democrats at the Arizona Legislature are expected to make a final push Wednesday, May 1, to repeal the state’s long-dormant ban on nearly all abortions that a court said can be enforced. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

Arizona state senator Shawnna Bolick, R-District 2, speaks, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, at the Capitol in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Anti-abortion supporters stand outside the Capitol, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Matt York)

Democratic Arizona state senator Anna Hernandez, D-District 24, left, hugs a colleague after a their vote, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, at the Capitol in Phoenix. Democrats secured enough votes in the Arizona Senate to repeal a Civil War-era ban on abortions that the state’s highest court recently allowed to take effect. (AP Photo/Matt York)