PHOENIX – The Arizona Supreme Court on Monday granted a request to stay the state’s 1864 ruling. almost a ban on abortion.
The court granted Democratic Attorney General Chris Mayes’ request for an additional 90 days to enforce the Civil War-era ban.
Although Democratic Gov. Kathy Hobbs signed the cancellation Because of the May 2 ban, the measure could take effect 90 days after the state legislative session ends — and is still in session. Monday’s court order narrows the window in which the ban can be implemented.
“I am grateful that the Arizona Supreme Court stayed the 1864 law and granted our motion to stay the mandate in this case for another 90 days,” Mayes said in a statement Monday.
He also said his office would “consider the best legal course of action from here,” including asking the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene.
Mayes’ office previously said the 1864 ban would take effect on June 27. Monday’s court order pushes that back to Sept. 26, his office said.
The implementation date depends heavily on when the state legislative session ends. Last year, it concluded on July 31. If lawmakers had followed that timeline, the ban could have been in effect for about a month — from Sept. 26 to the end of October, according to new projections. But it is not yet clear when this year’s session will end.
With enforcement delay, the state operates under a 15 week ban The 2022 abortion bill — signed by then-governor Doug Ducey, a Republican — makes exceptions for medical emergencies, not rape or incest.
The law prompted a coalition of reproductive rights organizations to try to get the constitutional amendment on the state ballot in November. The amendment would enshrine the right to abortion through fetal viability and greatly expand the scope of exemptions.
A coalition known as Arizona for Abortion is on track to achieve referendum on the ballot.
In a statement Monday, a spokesman for the coalition said the state Supreme Court’s decision does nothing to overturn the 2022 law.
“With this order, Arizonans are subject to yet another overreaching ban that penalizes patients who experience pregnancy complications and survivors of rape and incest,” said spokesman Chris Love.
Roe v. After Wade is overturned in June 2022, abortion rights are on the ballot in more than half a dozen states. Each time, including in red states like Kansas and Ohio, abortion rights advocates prevailed.
Adam Edelman contributed.