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The Arizona Supreme Court has ruled that the state should follow an extremely restrictive abortion law dating back to the 1860s, which outlaws abortions except in cases where the pregnant person’s life is at risk. The law, which makes no exceptions for cases of rape or incest, carries a prison sentence of two to five years for those who perform abortions. Despite this, Planned Parenthood Arizona has stated it will continue to provide abortions until the decision is enforced, and there are efforts to put a measure on the 2024 ballots that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution.
Arizona Supreme Court Approves Stringent Abortion Law
In Phoenix, abortions will soon be outlawed barring cases where the pregnant person’s life is at risk. The state Supreme Court has ruled that Arizona should abide by a 19th-century restrictive abortion law.
Arizona doctors, since Dec. 2022, have been allowed to perform abortions up to 15 weeks into a pregnancy according to a lower court. However, the state Supreme Court now advocates for a law that prohibits abortions in nearly all circumstances, excluding cases of rape or incest, and criminalizes performing an abortion with a two to five-year prison sentence.
An initiative is in progress to place a measure on the 2024 ballots to codify abortion rights in the Arizona state constitution.
Abortion Laws Across the U.S.
The decision follows the Florida Supreme Court’s approval of the state’s 6-week ban to come into effect on May 1. It also comes after former President Donald Trump’s proclamation that abortion should be state-regulated, which has sparked discontent among his supporters ahead of the 2024 election.
Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s reversal of Roe v. Wade nearly two years ago, abortion laws vary widely across the country. Fourteen states ban abortion with very limited exceptions, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-abortion rights group. Another 15 states safeguard abortion rights in differing ways, per Guttmacher’s findings.
This November, efforts are being made in about a dozen states, Arizona included, to add a question to voters’ ballots in support of abortion rights.
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