.-') _ .-') _
( OO ) ) ( OO ) )
.-----. ,--./ ,--,' ,--./ ,--,'
' .--./ | \ | |\ | \ | |\
| |('-. | \| | )| \| | )
/_) |OO )| . |/ | . |/
|| |`-'| | |\ | | |\ |
(_' '--'\ | | \ | | | \ |
`-----' `--' `--' `--' `--'
lite.cnn.com - on gopher - inofficial
ARTICLE VIEW:
Lawmakers vote against hearing Arizona bill repealing abortion ban on
House floor
By Arit John and Cheri Mossburg, CNN
Updated:
7:47 AM EDT, Thu April 18, 2024
Source: CNN
The Republican-controlled Arizona House of Representatives once
again failed to advance a repeal of t Wednesday, days after the state
Supreme Court roiled state politics by reviving the law.
The vote is a blow to reproductive rights as well as GOP candidates in
competitive races, who have been scrambling to distance themselves from
the court’s decision. Republicans facing competitive races in the
state, including former President Donald Trump , called on the
GOP-controlled legislature to work with Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs to
take a more moderate path.
On Wednesday, following two attempts to discuss a bill that would
repeal Arizona’s 1864 ban on abortions, lawmakers voted not to
discuss the measure on the House floor.
The representatives’ votes were evenly split, with the chair making
the tie-breaking decision. The bill itself was not brought up for a
vote.
“The last thing we should be doing today is rushing a bill through
the legislative process to repeal a law that has been enacted and
affirmed by the legislature several times,” House Speaker Ben Toma
said during debate.
If the 1864 law were repealed, Arizona would revert back to a 15-week
abortion restriction signed into law in 2022 by then-Gov. Doug Ducey, a
Republican. The state court delayed enforcement of the ban for at
least 14 days to allow plaintiffs to challenge it, meaning abortions
are still allowed in the state.
The ban prohibits the procedure except to save the life of the
pregnant person and threatens providers with prison sentences between
two and five years.
If the 1864 law goes into effect, that have passed near total
abortion bans, some with no exceptions for victims of rape or incest.
State lawmakers last week ended a House session early to block an
effort to repeal the abortion ban. And on Monday, House Republicans’
general counsel laid out a strategy to defeat or dilute the impact of a
potential abortion rights ballot initiative .
Arizona Democrats, who are hoping to flip control of the state House
and Senate, where Republicans hold one seat majorities, were quick to
highlight the failed repeal. State Sen. Priya Sundareshan, the
co-chair of the Arizona Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee,
which works to elect Democrats to the state legislature, called the
vote “a perfect example of why we need to flip” control of the two
chambers.
“Only then will we be able to codify abortion access and stop
Republicans from interfering in our medical decisions ever again,”
she said in a statement.
A , conducted before the state Supreme Court ruling, found that 59%
of registered voters in Arizona believe abortion should be legal in all
cases or most cases with some restrictions. Another 27% said they
believe abortion should be illegal with exceptions for rape, incest or
when the pregnant person’s life is endangered. Nine percent said the
procedure should be illegal in all cases.
Abortion rights advocates say they have gathered 500,000 signatures to
put an initiative on the November ballot that would enshrine abortion
access in the state constitution until fetal viability, which doctors
estimate is around 22 to 24 weeks of pregnancy. The group backing the
initiative, Arizona for Abortion Access, needs to submit 384,000 valid
signatures by July 3.
Democrats are hoping that voter frustration over draconian abortion
laws advanced by Republicans will help them win elections up and down
the ticket in November, in Arizona and elsewhere. In addition to the
presidential race and control of the state legislature, Democrats are
hoping to win an open US Senate seat and two competitive US House
seats.
Abortion rights supporters and opponents gathered outside the
statehouse Wednesday morning.
“It’s not a political issue, it’s a moral issue,” said Jill
Norgaard, an Arizona Right to Life board member who opposes repealing
the 1864 law.
This story has been updated with additional reporting.
DIR <- back to index