\n
![](\"https:\/\/fortune.com\/img-assets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/AP24101756918458-e1712862853353.jpg?w=2048\")
<\/p>\n [ad_1]
\n<\/p>\n
The Arizona Legislature devolved into shouts of \u201cShame! Shame!\u201d on Wednesday as Republican lawmakers quickly shut down discussion on a proposed repeal of the state\u2019s newly revived 1864 law that criminalizes abortion throughout pregnancy unless a woman\u2019s life is at risk.<\/p>\n
The state Supreme Court cleared the way on Tuesday for enforcement of the\u00a0pre-statehood law<\/a>. Arizona abortion providers vowed Wednesday to continue service until they\u2019re forced to stop, possibly within weeks.<\/p>\n State legislators convened as pressure mounted from Democrats and some Republicans, including former President Donald Trump, for them to intervene.<\/p>\n House Democrats and at least one Republican tried to open discussion on a repeal of the 1864 abortion ban, which holds no exceptions for rape or incest. GOP leaders, who command the majority, cut it off twice and quickly adjourned for the week. Outraged Democrats erupted in finger-waving chants of \u201cShame! Shame!\u201d<\/p>\n Republican state Rep. Teresa Martinez, of Casa Grande, said there was no reason to rush the debate. She accused Democrats of \u201cscreaming at us and engaging in extremist and insurrectionist behavior on the House floor.\u201d The GOP-led Senate briefly convened without debate on abortion.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are navigating an extremely complex, emotional and important area of law and policy,\u201d said Martinez, the GOP House whip. \u201cIn my opinion, removing healthy babies from healthy mothers is not health care nor reproductive care. Pregnancy is not an illness. It should be celebrated. It is an abortion that terminates life.\u201d<\/p>\n Democratic legislators seized on national interest in the state\u2019s abortion ban.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got the eyes of the world watching Arizona right now,\u201d said Democratic state Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton, of Tucson. \u201cWe know that the Supreme Court decision yesterday is extreme. And we know that should the 1864 ban on abortion remain a law in Arizona, people will die.\u201d<\/p>\n Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs called inaction on the proposed repeal unconscionable.<\/p>\n \u201cRadical legislators protected a Civil War-era total abortion ban that jails doctors, strips women of our bodily autonomy and puts our lives at risk,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Three Republican legislators openly oppose the ban, including state Rep. Matt Gress, of Phoenix, who made a motion Wednesday to repeal the law. In a statement, he said the near-total ban \u201cis not reflective of the values of the vast majority of our electorate, regardless of political affiliation. \u2026 This issue transcends all.\u201d<\/p>\n According to AP VoteCast, 6 out of 10 Arizona voters in the 2022 midterm elections said they would favor guaranteeing legal abortion nationwide. The state recorded 11,530 abortions in 2022, the last data available, according to Arizona\u2019s Department of Health Services.<\/p>\n At Camelback Family Planning in Phoenix, where about one-fourth of Arizona abortions are performed, registered nurse Ashleigh Feiring said abortion services were still available and that staff hope emergency legislation will avoid interruptions or closure.<\/p>\n \u201cOur plan is to stay open as long as possible,\u201d Feiring said. \u201cOur clinic has been shut down twice in the last four years, but we\u2019ve always resumed service.\u201d<\/p>\n At the same time, anti-abortion groups including SBA Pro-Life America urged Arizona residents to oppose a proposed ballot initiative aimed at placing abortion rights in Arizona\u2019s state constitution.<\/p>\n \u201cThey would wipe away all pro-life laws put in place by the Legislature, reflective of the will of the people,\u201d SBA President Marjorie Dannenfelser said in a statement.<\/p>\n Hobbs, however, predicted that outrage will motivate voters to enshrine abortion rights directly in state law.<\/p>\n \u201cThe fight is not over, for sure\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Grace Harders drove around metro Phoenix on Wednesday looking for an opportunity to sign an abortion rights petition. She said she wouldn\u2019t know what to do if she had an unplanned pregnancy but knew she\u2019d be scared.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m a pro-choice person, and I want to ensure the right for all women,\u201d Harders said.<\/p>\n Abortion rights advocates said they\u2019ve gathered more than 500,000 signatures for the petition from the Arizona for Abortion Access campaign \u2014 far above what they need to add a ballot question asking voters to approve a constitutional amendment protecting the right to abortion until viability, when a fetus could survive outside the womb.<\/p>\n Arriving for a campaign fundraiser in Atlanta, Trump said the Arizona court decision went too far and called on state lawmakers to change it even as he defended the U.S. Supreme Court\u2019s 2022 ruling\u00a0overturning of Roe v. Wade<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s all about states\u2019 rights,\u201d the former president told supporters and journalists. \u201cIt\u2019ll be straightened out.\u201d<\/p>\n Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, most Republican-controlled states have started enforcing new bans or restrictions, and most Democratic-dominated ones have sought to protect abortion access.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, voters have sided with abortion rights supporters on\u00a0statewide ballot measures<\/a>\u00a0in California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Montana, Ohio and Vermont.<\/p>\n The Arizona ruling suggests doctors can be prosecuted for performing the procedure. The 1864 law carries a sentence of two to five years in prison for doctors or anyone else who assists in an abortion.<\/p>\n \u201cPhysicians are now on notice that all abortions, except those necessary to save a woman\u2019s life, are illegal,\u201d the Arizona Supreme Court said in its decision, adding that additional criminal and regulatory sanctions may apply to abortions performed after 15 weeks, the state\u2019s previous time limit for the procedure.<\/p>\n Beyond<\/a> that, the court ruling also ignited concern that enforcement might interfere with handling miscarriages.<\/p>\n Enforcing the 1864 law won\u2019t begin for at least two weeks. However, plaintiffs in the case \u2014 including Planned Parenthood \u2014 said the delay could last up to two months, based on an agreement reached in a related case.<\/p>\n Planned Parenthood has said it will offer abortion services up to 15 weeks of pregnancy for at least two more months, in line with an agreement in the related case.<\/p>\n Doctors and clinic leaders are\u00a0anticipating a scramble across the Southwest region<\/a>\u00a0to accommodate Arizona residents as they travel out of state for abortion care.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Associated Press writers Jacques Billeaud in Phoenix and Scott Sonner in Reno, Nevada, contributed to this report.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n