By Tashi McQueen,
AFRO Political writer,
tmcqueen@afro.com
The Arizona Supreme Court issued a ruling that created a near-total abortion ban in the state on April 9. The Arizona Supreme Court, through the Planned Parenthood Arizona v. Kristin Mayes case, reinstated a criminal law from 1864 that nearly completely banned abortions in the state until the 1970s.
“Freedom shouldn’t be dictated by your zip code. When I’m in the Senate, I’ll fight like everything to eliminate the filibuster and make sure women across this country have access to abortion rights, IVF and the full spectrum of reproductive care,” said Angela Alsobrooks, a U.S. Senate candidate for Maryland. “I can’t imagine what the women and families of Arizona are going through today. Know that we see you and we will not stop fighting until your freedoms are restored.”
The reinstated law reads:
“A person who provides, supplies or administers to a pregnant woman, or procures such woman to take any medicine, drugs or substance, or uses or employs any instrument or other means whatever, with intent thereby to procure the miscarriage of such woman, unless it is necessary to save her life, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than two years nor more than five years.”
According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, a worldwide human rights legal organization, the law will be “enforceable in 45 days after the court issues its mandate, which is separate from today’s decision.”
“This cruel ban was first enacted in 1864—more than 150 years ago, before Arizona was even a state and well before women had secured the right to vote,” said President Biden in a statement on the matter. “We will continue to fight to protect reproductive rights and call on Congress to pass a law restoring the protections of Roe v. Wade for women in every state.”
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes announced on the day of the ruling that she would not enforce this law.
“Today’s decision to reimpose a law from a time when Arizona wasn’t a state, the Civil War was raging and women couldn’t even vote will go down in history as a stain on our state,” said Mayes in a statement. “This is far from the end of the debate on reproductive freedom, and I look forward to the people of Arizona having their say in the matter. Let me be completely clear, as long as I am Attorney General, no woman or doctor will be prosecuted under this draconian law in this state.”
According to the Brennan Center for Justice, a nonprofit law public policy organization, in the 1960s, abortions were illegal in most states in the U.S.
“To stop bans like this we need a United States Congress that will restore the protections of Roe v. Wade and when they do, President Biden will sign it into law,” said Vice President Kamala Harris, in a video she released on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “Let’s always remember, it does not have to be this way.”
The Alliance Defending Freedom, a faith-based legal advocacy organization, held a live-streamed press conference on April 9 to discuss their approval of the decision.
“We are incredibly grateful for the Arizona Supreme Court’s ruling today,” said Jake Warner, senior counsel for the Alliance Defending Freedom’s Appellate Team. “We celebrate the Arizona Supreme Court’s decision that allows the state’s pro-life law to again protect the lives of countless innocent unborn children.”
Tashi McQueen is a Report For America corps member.