The end of the congressional session means repeal will take effect sooner than the start date of Prohibition in 1864. Democratic lawmakers are seeking a legal opinion on the current law.
PHOENIX — This weekend could mark the beginning of the end of Arizona’s 160-year-old near-total abortion ban.
The ban could have been put in place for a short time in the fall ahead of the presidential election.
But that’s not the case anymore, and here’s why.
This year’s legislative session is expected to end by Saturday, which would mean all new laws will take effect in 90 days. The Legislature is working to pass a state budget as its final action this session. One of the new laws would be a repeal of the 1864 Prohibition. If the legislative session ends by Saturday, the repeal would take effect around September 13. The Arizona Supreme Court ruled in April that the prohibition before statehood could be enforced.
A subsequent ruling delayed enforcement until Sept. 27, by which time the ban is expected to be rescinded, according to the Arizona Attorney General’s Office.
Arizona’s current abortion law, which takes effect in 2022, bans abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The only exceptions are in cases of “medical emergencies” and no exceptions in cases of rape or incest.
Four Democratic senators have asked Attorney General Chris Mays for an urgent legal opinion on what constitutes a “medical emergency.”
“Doctors are faced with difficult decisions every day about whether to perform a medically necessary abortion to save a mother’s life,” Mayes, a first-term Democratic congressman, said in an interview on “Sunday Square Off” this weekend.
Mays said the emergency room doctor asked her, “‘How close to death do I have to get my patient to avoid being prosecuted under the 15-week abortion ban?'” “That was a weird question for him to ask me.”
A legal opinion is expected within 30 days.
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