Arizona state senators successfully passed a measure to repeal the state’s near-total 1864 abortion ban following a heated and emotional voting session.
Two Republican state senators, Shawnna Bolick and T.J. Shope, joined Democrats in a 16-14 vote in favor of repealing the measure. The House passed an identical bill in the lower chamber last week, also with several Republican crossover votes.
The Civil War-era law was upheld by the state Supreme Court in April and came into effect due to a complicated sequence of legal events, supplanting a measure enacted in 2022 that would have precluded the procedure after 15 weeks of gestation.
The bill is slated to head to Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-AZ), who is expected to sign it into law expeditiously.
Two female Republican senators shared their poignant miscarriage stories that each shaped their vote in different directions on the measure.
Bolick shared her story of several difficult pregnancies, including one that involved an emergency dilation and curettage procedure to remove the remains of her child who had died in the womb.
Because the 1864 law only had an exception for the immediate life-threatening condition of the mother, Bolick said she could not support the 1864 abortion ban that left in question whether the emergency care that she received would be legal.
Dilation and curettage, also referred to as D&C, is similar to a later-term abortion procedure in which a living fetus has his spinal cord and limbs snipped before removing the remains. Over 63% of the nearly 643 million abortions in the United States are done via abortion pill within 10 weeks of gestation, and voluntary D&C abortions later in pregnancy are very rare.
State GOP Sen. Justine Wadsack also said on the Senate floor that her second pregnancy resulted in a miscarriage and that the traumatic experience prompted her to vote against the repeal effort.
“God chose when that heartbeat stopped,” Wadsack said, becoming emotional during her statement. “It is not my job as a state senator to determine when a child’s heart stops beating.”
State GOP Sen. Wendy Rogers praised the Civil War-era law, saying, “They got it right in 1864.”
“Life in 1864 is no different than life in 2024. Life is precious,” Rogers said. “We are Americans. We celebrate the right to be born.”
“The epitome of delusion is saying you’re pro-life but voting to repeal an abortion ban,” said Republican state Sen. Anthony Kern. “The Democratic Party stands and votes on death.”
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Hobbs has made abortion access a critical part of her administration, including blocking the enforcement of both the 15-week law and the 1864 law while the dispute between the two was being adjudicated in the courts.
Voters in Arizona are also expected to be able to vote on an abortion rights constitutional amendment in the November 2024 election that would make access to a procedure a “fundamental right.”
