- The Arizona Supreme Court has reinstated a near-total ban on abortion dating from 1864.
- The judgment effectively prohibits abortion, unless the life of the pregnant woman is in danger.
- The decision could influence the 2024 Senate elections, as abortion rights will likely be a key issue.
The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a near-total ban on abortion dating from 1864 can be enforced.
The ruling makes Arizona the last state to effectively ban the procedure. The law makes providing an abortion or helping someone to have an abortion a crime punishable by two to five years in prison.
The 160-year-old ban was passed nearly 50 years before Arizona became a state.
Abortions up to 15 weeks of pregnancy have been allowed in the state since a lower court ruled in 2022 that a 15-week ban could override the 1864 law. But in reviewing that ruling, the high court said that the law of 1864 should be maintained.
The law does not make exceptions for cases of rape or incest but allows exceptions in cases where the life of the pregnant person is in danger.
The court wrote in its 4-2 decision that the 2022 law was based entirely on the federal constitutional right to abortion under Roe v. Wade and that now, without this right, “there is no provision in federal or state law prohibiting” abortion. Operation of the law of 1864.
Although the law is now enforceable, the court suspended the decision for 14 days while a lower court reviews aspects of its constitutionality.
The high court’s decision will likely put abortion rights at the forefront of the 2024 elections, where a Senate race in Arizona could tip the balance of power in the House.
The ruling came a week after the Florida Supreme Court agreed to allow the state’s six-week ban on abortion. The same day, Florida’s high court also allowed an amendment that would enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution to go on the November ballot.
Arizona voters could have the same opportunity in November. Arizona for Abortion Access told NBC News it has collected enough petition signatures to qualify its abortion measure for this year’s ballot.
Planned Parenthood Action posted on X, formerly Twitter, that Arizona residents can still get abortions in the state until the ban takes effect.
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