Arizona Republicans BLOCK attempt to repeal 1864 law that banned abortion and was reinstated by state Supreme Court
- The state Supreme Court ruled last week that a 160-year-old law could be enforced
- The 1864 law banning abortion is one of the strictest in the country
- Republican state lawmakers blocked efforts to repeal the law, despite some national Republican leaders
Arizona Republicans in the state House blocked a second attempt to repeal the state’s 1864 law banning abortion. The law has sparked outrage across the country after the state Supreme Court ruled that the 160-year-old law could be enforced.
The GOP lawmakers’ efforts run counter to calls from some prominent Republicans, including former President Donald Trump and Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake, who have called on the state Legislature to act.
On Wednesday, Democratic state lawmakers launched a second attempt to repeal the law. But their effort failed after Republicans refused to hold a vote to repeal the proposal.
Republican state lawmakers in the House applauded after it was blocked. One lawmaker even raised his fists in victory.
Abortion rights protesters in Scottsdale, Arizona on April 9 after the state Supreme Court ruled that an 1864 law banning abortion in almost all cases could be enforced
Ab abortion rights protester holds a sign reading “Donald Trump did this” as the state faces an 1864 law banning abortion. The issue has taken center stage in the battleground state ahead of the November elections
Democrats in the Arizona House of Representatives have rejected Republican Party leadership and questioned why they refused to change procedural rules to address the issue.
“Yes, we do have a process, but that process is constantly interrupted in this House,” said Democrat Alma Hernandez. “I don’t understand why we have to follow the process that we’re being told specifically in this regard.”
Just over a week ago, the Arizona Supreme Court announced the surprise decision that Arizona could uphold the 1864 law that effectively bans abortion in the state.
The Civil War-era law was passed nearly 50 years before Arizona was even a state and contains no exceptions for rape or incest.
The decision drew condemnation at the national level, including from both Democratic and some Republican political candidates who called for an immediate solution.
A week ago, Democrats tried to advance a bill in both chambers of the state legislature, but it was blocked by Republicans.
Both chambers of the Arizona Legislature are controlled by Republicans.
Democrats have taken aim at Republicans over abortion rights, as the issue has proven to be a motivation in a string of recent elections since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in 2022, ending the federal right to abortion.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who has led the Biden administration’s charge on abortion rights, traveled to the state on Friday where she challenged Republicans on the issue of returning abortion access to the states.
“Donald Trump did this,” she said.
“Just like he did in Arizona, he basically wants to take America back to the 19th century. But we won’t let that happen,” Harris said. “This is 2024, not the 1800s, and we’re not going back.”
Vice President Harris spoke about Arizona’s 1864 abortion ban in a speech in Tucson on Friday. She blamed Donald Trump for overturning Roe v Wade, which paved the way for the law
Donald Trump said Friday that the US no longer needs a federal abortion ban because “we broke Roe v Wade.” Last week, he said the Arizona Supreme Court went “too far” in ruling that the 1864 law banning abortion in the state could be enforced, but that Republicans failed to heed his words to do anything about it doing.
Trump has praised the overturning of Roe and taken credit for appointing the Supreme Court justices who helped overturn the case.
The ex-president recently announced his position on abortion, saying he believes it should be left to the states.
But in a signal of how politically potent the issue has become for Republicans, he agreed that the Arizona Supreme Court went too far and suggested that Arizona lawmakers resolve it immediately.
When pressed on the issue last Friday, Trump said he no longer felt the need to sign a federal abortion ban, something he had previously indicated he was considering.
“We no longer need it because we broke Roe v. Wade and we did something that no one thought was possible. We gave it back to the states and the states are working very brilliantly in some cases,” he explained.