For the third time in three weeks, Democrats in the Arizona Legislature will try Wednesday to pass a bill that would almost completely overturn an 1864 ban on abortion that was upheld by the battleground state’s Supreme Court earlier this month.
Following the ruling, U.S. Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, urged state lawmakers to repeal the ban amid a broader political backlash against the GOP on reproductive rights in the nearly two years since the U.S. Supreme Court ruling. lower Roe v. Wade.
But Republicans in the Arizona State House, where the party holds a slim majority, have so far remained adamant in preventing the repealed bill from moving forward.
The latest iteration of this sequence has taken place last wednesday When Democrats in the State House introduced a draft law Act He petitioned House Republican leaders to repeal the 160-year-old abortion ban and demand an immediate vote. The vote failed, prompting Democrats to move again to force a vote, which failed.
One Republican, state Rep. Matt Gress, joined state Democrats to repeal the abortion ban, while another, Rep. David Cook signaled supported the bill but did not vote for its introduction.
Under Arizona House rules, a majority of the chamber that includes the speaker is required to vote to suspend the rules for an immediate vote.
Republican state House Speaker Ben Thome has repeatedly said he opposes repealing the ban, and it was still unclear Wednesday whether lawmakers were strategizing to bypass Thome.
Meanwhile, members of the state Senate, where Republicans also hold a small majority, voted last week to introduce a bill that would repeal a Civil War-era abortion ban. The vote was joined by two Republicans for every Democrat in the chamber.
If state House lawmakers were to move to advance the repeal Wednesday, lawmakers in the state Senate would be required under chamber rules in Arizona to read the bill three times on the floor in three separate sessions, meaning it wouldn’t be on track for full passage until mid-May.
Wednesday’s trial will mark the latest chapter in the battle over abortion rights in a key battleground after the Arizona Supreme Court’s bombshell ruling earlier this month.
The conservative court’s enforceable sentence punishes anyone who performs an abortion or assists a woman in obtaining an abortion with two to five years in prison. The law In 1901 and again in 1913, after Arizona became a state, it was codified and banned abortions from the moment of conception, but included an exception to save the woman’s life.
The law is set to go into effect on June 8, although Democratic Attorney General Chris Mayes said his office is trying to find ways to delay that date.
Despite continued repeal efforts, voters may have the power to decide the future of abortion rights in the state this November.
Organizers in the state likely to succeed Placing a proposed constitutional amendment on the November ballot would create a “fundamental right” to access abortion care until the fetus is viable, or about the 24th week of pregnancy. If voters approve the ballot measure, it would effectively repeal the 1864 prohibition, which now remains the law in the state.
According to the treating medical professional, it would also prohibit the state from restricting abortion care in situations where the health or life of a pregnant person is at risk after viability.