Arizona House lawmakers voted Wednesday to repeal an 1864 ban on abortion that could take effect next month.
In a 32-28 vote, parliamentarians decided that the long-standing ban on abortion should be repealed. The Arizona State Senate must now also vote to repeal the law for the 160-year-old ban to be overturned.
“The decision to obtain an abortion, or seek any type of reproductive health care, belongs to the patient, her family and providers, not to politicians,” Democratic Rep. Oscar De Los Santos told reporters ahead of Wednesday’s session.
The dispute in Arizona over its Civil War-era abortion ban is the latest flashpoint over women’s reproductive rights in the US since the Supreme Court ended the constitutional right to abortion in 2022, leaving states the prerogative to decide on the issue. Conservative-led states quickly invoked strict bans on abortion within their borders.
An old law was resurrected by an Arizona state Supreme Court ruling on April 9 and, unless the legislature intervenes, will go into effect.
Even if Arizona Democrats succeed in repealing the 1864 ban, restrictions on the procedure would still be in place. Arizona Republicans passed a law in 2022 that bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
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