(RepublicanNews.org) – The Arizona Supreme Court decided that the state must follow an existing 160-year-old abortion law on the books which bans the practice almost entirely, with the exception of saving the mother’s life if endangered.
On Tuesday, April 9th, the Supreme Court of Arizona ruled that the abortion legislation dating back to the Civil War era will be enforceable.
The law dates back to 1864, the year before the Civil War ended and decades before Arizona officially became a state in 1912. It wasn’t codified into law until 1901. Under this legislation, abortion providers could face two to five years in prison, making it one of the strictest abortion laws in the U.S. Other states with such bans include Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas, where little to no exceptions for abortions exist.
Enforcement of the law was delayed by the court for 14 days to allow plaintiffs to bring other challenges to a lower court for consideration, including the question of the law’s constitutionality.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes responded to the decision in an official statement and promised that no doctor or woman would face prosecution under this new law, which she described as “draconian.” Mayes vowed that as long as she is attorney general, she will not prosecute and it will not happen “on [her] watch.” She said her office is looking at further legal options to block the law from being implemented.
Mayes believes that the state’s Supreme Court’s attempt to “reimpose a law” that predates Arizona statehood, women’s right to vote, and while the “Civil War was raging,” would be remembered “as a stain” on Arizona.
Ever since Roe v. Wade was struck down in 2022, the issue of abortion has become one of the most contentious and polarizing, and each individual state is now responsible for going in whichever direction they wish. For many voters, it’s also their deciding issue come November.
Former President Donald Trump recently came forward and said his official position on the matter is to leave it the way it is now and let the voters of each state decide whether to institute a ban.
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