A majority in the Arizona House of Representatives wants to remove an abortion ban from 1864. Now the matter goes to the state Senate.
The ban from the Civil War era, which is scheduled to come into effect next month, was voted to be removed by 32 to 28 votes.
– The decision to have an abortion or seek other forms of health care related to reproduction belongs to the patients, their families and the health providers, not to politicians, said Democrat Oscar De Los Santos before the vote on Wednesday.
After the US Supreme Court removed the constitutional protection of the right to abortion, a number of states with conservative leadership have introduced strict abortion laws.
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In Arizona, the state’s highest court ruled earlier this month that the 160-year-old abortion ban should be revived unless elected officials intervene.
The Norwegian-American Arizona senator Eva Burch (44) went viral earlier this year when she shared her personal crisis.
– I could be one of the last women in Arizona to get a legal abortion. Now we are going to close abortion services across the state, putting patients and health workers at risk. Now pregnant women have to travel to California or buy abortion pills in Mexico, she told VG.
Even if the Democrats were to succeed in getting the ban lifted, there would still be restrictions. In 2022, Republicans in the state passed a law banning abortion after the 15th week of pregnancy.
In parallel with the fight against the 1864 law, Democrats are working to get a referendum in November to restore abortion rights in the state.
Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs has promised to give her formal approval if both houses of the state assembly agree to lift the abortion ban.
She has used the term “extremists” for Republicans who want to keep it.
