Arizona government repeals 1864 anti-abortion law that had been revived by the state Supreme Court | World

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs signed this Thursday (2) the repeal of an 1864 anti-abortion law which had been reactivated by the state Supreme Court in early April.

Before reaching the governor, the amendment to block the return of the law was approved in the Chamber and the Senate with the help of Republican politicians, who voted against her party. Hobbs’ signature came just one day after the Senate’s decision, which had 16 votes in favor and 14 against.

With the repeal formalized this Thursday, the right to abortion in Arizona returns to what it was in a law enacted in 2022 by Republican Doug Ducey, Hobbs’ predecessor: the procedure is prohibited from 15 weeks of pregnancy.

The state’s 1864 law, which criminalizes all types of abortion except when the mother’s life is at risk, was reinstated by the state Supreme Court in early April. The decision received widespread criticism from various groups in the US, including the governor of Arizona herself and President Joe Biden. (Read more below)

Following the approval of the repeal of the law on Wednesday (1), Hobbs praised the Senate’s decision: “I’m glad to see that the Senate heeded my call and voted to repeal the total abortion ban of 1864. While this is essential to protect women’s health is just the beginning. I will never stop fighting for women’s reproductive rights.”

The 160-year-old anti-abortion law could have gone into effect within 60 days if it was not overturned, according to state Attorney General Kristin Mayes.

With the decision taken by the Arizona Supreme Court, made up of seven judges appointed by Republican governors, the 1864 law “returns to be applicable”. The court is made up of five men and two women.

The vote in the Senate was marked by two Republican senators who voted in favor of repeal, against their party colleagues. The same happened when the agenda was still in the Chamber, when some Republican politicians also went against the party and voted together with Democrats.

The reactivation of the 1864 anti-abortion law by the Arizona Supreme Court generated criticism from various sectors of American society.

President Joe Biden said millions of Arizonans will soon live under an even more extreme and dangerous abortion ban.

“This decision is the result of the extreme agenda of Republican elected officials who are committed to taking away women’s freedoms,” the US president said in a statement.

Arizona Attorney General Kristin Mayes called the ruling “unconscionable and an outrage on liberty” and that “the state court put the health and lives of Arizona women at risk.” Kristin also emphasized that while in office, she would not prosecute any doctor or woman who performs an abortion under the law, which she called “draconian.”

“Today’s decision to reintroduce a law from a time when Arizona was not a state, the Civil War was raging and women were not even allowed to vote will go down in history as a stain on our state,” said the attorney general, who is a Democrat.

Chief Justice John Lopez said the law was revived because it reflected the will of the people and that, to date, the state legislature “has never affirmatively created a right to elective abortion.”

“We defer, as we are constitutionally required to do, to the judgment of the legislature, which is responsible to, and therefore reflects, the changing will of our citizens,” Lopez wrote.

With this Tuesday’s Supreme Court decision, the state of Arizona is in the spotlight in the discussion about abortion, one of the main themes of this year’s elections in U.Sscheduled for November 5th.

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, also a Democrat, said the decision “only serves to create more chaos for women and doctors in our state,” pointing the finger at Republicans for an “endless assault on our basic rights.”

Democrats also criticized the decision to return the 1864 law in Arizona. The reactivation of the text was possible due to the revocation by the US Supreme Court of the case ‘Roe against Wade’, which guaranteed the right to abortion nationally. The revocation took place in 2022, during the term of Donald Trump, who appointed three judges to the Supreme Court.

In Brazil, abortion is permitted in some cases:

• if the pregnancy puts the pregnant woman’s life at risk.
• if the pregnancy is the result of rape.

Furthermore, by decision of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), it is also not a crime to have an abortion in the case of fetal anencephaly, that is, malformation of the fetal brain – nor is there a maximum period established for this.