US: Arizona Senate votes to repeal 1864 abortion ban

Arizona's Senate on Wednesday narrowly approved a bill repealing an 1864 ban on abortion that could have gone into effect if not struck down by state politicians. 

Governor Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, is seen as likely to sign the repeal into law after Wednesday's 16-14 Senate vote and after it cleared Arizona's House of Representatives last week. 

Civil War-era ban with only 1 exception

The near-total ban predates Arizona becoming a state in 1912 and permits abortions only to save the patient's life, with no exceptions, for instance, for survivors of rape or incest.

Arizona's Supreme Court recently suggested it could also expose doctors as it says that anybody assisting in an abortion could be sentenced to two to five years in prison. 

"This is a clear statement that the Legislature does not want the territorial ban to be enforceable," said Democratic state Senator Priya Sundareshan, who voted yes to repeal.

How did the law nearly return?

The 2022 Supreme Court verdict ending the constitutional right to abortion in the US previously established in 1973, leaving it up to states to decide the issue again, paved the way for the law's return. 

Several Republican-led states have sought since that ruling to reimpose restrictions on abortions, and Arizona has also emerged as a battleground on the issue.  

A few Republican House members last week joining Democrat ranks facilitated the legislative move to stop this particular law's return. 

The repeal won't take effect until 90 days after the current legislative session, likely in June or July. That means there may be a brief period when almost all abortions are outlawed in the state. 

Issue likely to feature again in November election

A much more recent 2022 statute passed in the state banning abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy would become the prevailing law in the state if the repeal passes into law.

Arizona Democrats have said they will continue attempting to place a ballot measure before voters, as part of the November 5 US elections, that would restore abortion rights.

VP Harris decries new Florida abortion restrictions

Meanwhile, US Vice President Kamala Harris visited Jacksonville on Wednesday as a new law came into effect in Florida banning most abortions after more than six weeks of pregnancy. 

This law does have exceptions for victims of rape and incest, and for situations where a life is at risk, though some medical professionals say it does not cover the timely termination of non-viable pregnancies that could later become life-threatening.

Harris said changes such as this were a direct result of former President Donald Trump appointing three of the six Supreme Court judges who voted in 2022 to overturn the so-called Roe vs. Wade judgment.

"And now, in states across our nation, extremists have proposed and passed laws that criminalize doctors, punish women," Harris said.

"Laws that threaten doctors and nurses with prison time, even for life, simply for providing reproductive care. Laws that make no exception for rape or incest, even reviving laws from the 1800s."

msh/lo (AP, Reuters)