Arizona Democrats vote to repeal controversial 1864 abortion ban, with help of 3 Republicans
Written by ABC AUDIO on April 24, 2024
(PHOENIX) — Three Republicans on Wednesday joined Democrats in the Arizona House to vote to repeal the state’s controversial 1864 ban on nearly all abortions, which was revived by a court ruling earlier this month and which only includes exceptions to save the life of the pregnant woman.
The final vote was 32-28.
The repeal bill, pushed by Democrats, next heads to the state Senate where it could be taken up next week.
The chamber on Wednesday separately conducted a second read of its own abortion ban repeal bill, without objection, setting up a parallel vote — though that is likely moot now because the House bill has been approved.
Two Republican senators have already said they will support the repeal effort, signaling the House bill should pass that chamber and then head to Gov. Katie Hobbs’ desk to be signed into law.
The repeal of the ban would then take effect 90 days after the end of the legislative session, which must be before June 30.
“This is a stain on history that this ban even exists — from a time when the age of consent was 10, from a time when women didn’t have the right to vote,” Arizona state Sen. Eva Burch, a Democrat, told ABC News’ Elizabeth Schulze amid an earlier, failed effort to approve the repeal bill in the state House.
Many Republicans sharply objected on Wednesday to the push to undo the Civil War-era ban that has roiled the politics of the state after the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that it is enforceable.
Leading conservatives like Trump, former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and Senate candidate Kari Lake have touted their general support for abortion restrictions but said the 1864 ban goes too far.
“This total ban on abortion that the Arizona Supreme Court has ruled on is out of line with where the people of this state are,” Lake said in a video statement on social media earlier this month.
House Speaker Ben Toma rose to object to the vote on the House floor on Wednesday. The leader has been a vocal opponent of “rushing” any repeal legislation.
GOP Rep. Alexander Kolodin likewise accused the body, including the Republicans joining with Democrats, of moving forward because of political pressures and likened abortion to the killing of “infants.”
“At the end of the day, your politics is important but it is not worth our souls,” he said.
The issue is likely to be put directly before voters in November’s election.
The Arizona for Abortion Access campaign has been working to get a potential constitutional amendment on the state’s ballot to enshrine abortion access. Democrats believe that could boost voter enthusiasm and turnout for their candidates, given how abortion access has succeeded in previous elections since Roe v. Wade’s nationwide protections were overruled in 2022.
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The campaign has said that they have gathered more than 500,000 signatures — surpassing the necessary threshold, but will continue to gather signatures “until the wheels fall off,” a spokesperson told ABC News.
ABC News’ Oren Oppenheim contributed to this report.
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