Arizona Senate Votes to Repeal 19th Century Abortion Ban

The Arizona Senate has passed a bill repealing an 1864 near-total abortion ban, which allowed no exceptions for cases of rape, incest or to save the life of the mother.

Republicans control the state senate but two Republican state senators, T.J. Shope and Shawnna Bolick, joined with Democrats to pass Senate Bill 1734, which repealed the ban.

The 19th century law garnered significant attention both within and outside of the state earlier this month after the Arizona Supreme Court ruled the law is enforceable.

SB1734 now heads to the desk of Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, who is expected to sign the legislation.

“Arizonans have been begging the legislature to take actions since the Supreme Court’s ruling on April 9,” State Sen. Anna Hernandez, a Democrat, wrote in a statement after the bill’s passage.

“Since then, the legislative Republicans have continuously ignored their constituents who [overwhelmingly] support the right to choose, and blocked Democrats attempts to bring legislation forward that would repeal the ban until last week,” she added. “I’m glad that today we were able to continue the House’s momentum and give [the bill] the votes it needs to get to the governor’s desk and be signed into law.”

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Prior to casting her vote, Bolick, who has now drawn the ire of members within her party, referenced her own personal experience with a first trimester abortion she had because the fetus was not viable.

“Would Arizona’s pre-Roe law have allowed me to have this medical procedure even though my life wasn’t in danger?” she asked, as detailed by The New York Times.

Bolick blasted Planned Parenthood and the Democratic Party’s support for abortion. However, she stated that her vote to repeal the 1864 law could be the state’s best opportunity at slowing the momentum behind a proposed ballot measure to enshrine abortion in the state constitution, according to the Times.

“We should be pushing for the maximum protection for unborn children that can be sustained,” she explained, as angry onlookers shouted. “I side with saving more babies’ lives.”