Arizona can enforce an 1864 law criminalizing nearly all abortions, court says

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona will soon join 14 other states that have banned abortion at all stages of pregnancy after a state Supreme Court ruling Tuesday found that officials may enforce an 1864 law criminalizing all abortions except when a woman’s life is at stake.

The court said enforcement won’t begin for at least two weeks. However, it could be up to two months, based on an agreement reached in a related case in Arizona, according to state Attorney General Kris Mayes and Planned Parenthood, the plaintiffs in the current case.

The law provides no exceptions for rape or incest.

https://apnews.com/article/arizona-abortion-restrictions-1864-9c68866d69dca38c728dd27b80592e8f

The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a 160-year-old abortion ban may be enforced, clearing the way for a ban on almost all abortions in the state.

The 1864 ban has exceptions only to save the life of the mother but none in cases of rape or incest.

The old law supersedes Arizona's 15-week abortion ban, which was passed by the legislature and signed in 2022 by then-Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican. The 2022 ban included exceptions in cases of medical emergencies and restrictions on medication abortion, and it requires an ultrasound before an abortion and parental consent for minors. But the 15-week ban did not repeal the 1864 law, the state Supreme Court found, and "is predicated entirely on the existence of a federal constitutional right to an abortion," which was struck down with the Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/arizona-abortion-ban-supreme-court-1864/