The abortion law was written at a time when Arizona was not a US state and women did not have the right to vote.
In the US state of Arizona, the state house of representatives voted on Wednesday in favor of repealing an abortion law dating back to the 1800s, according to the news agency AFP and The Washington Post -magazine.
The repeal decision was made when a few Republican representatives supported the Democrats in the vote. 32 representatives voted for the repeal and 29 opposed it.
The voting decision of the Republicans who supported the repeal is at least partly due to the concern that the blackmailing of abortion rights would rain down on the Democrats in the November elections.
The state Supreme Court ruled earlier in April that the 1864 abortion law can go into effect. The law prohibits abortions under threat of imprisonment, and it does not allow exceptions in cases of rape or incest, for example.
Indications of possible support in the Senate
The bill to repeal the abortion law will next go to the state senate, where it needs the votes of at least two Republicans in addition to all the Democrats in the governing body, according to the Washington Post.
According to the newspaper, Arizona’s very strict abortion law had time to temporarily enter into force after the US Supreme Court overturned the Roe v. Wade decision that protected the right to abortion at the federal level in the summer of 2022. However, the law was challenged through the courts and soon the courts blocked it.
The Arizona Supreme Court revived the law this month. The law was written at a time when Arizona was not a US state and women did not have the right to vote.
Can be valid for months
Regardless of what lawmakers decide, an abortion law can remain in effect for up to several months after a state governor’s decision to repeal it is signed into law. Democratic governor Katie Hobbs has already said he will sign the bill.
– I am hopeful that the Senate will do the right thing and send it to my desk so I can sign it, Hobbs commented on the bill, according to the Washington Post.
However, several Republican representatives have expressed their frustration with their colleagues who voted for the repeal decision.
– Life is one of the tenets of the Republican party program. When I see people rejecting that value, it’s outrageous to me, Republican member of the state House of Representatives Rachel Jones said according to the Washington Post.