Olivia Allery, news editor 

On April 17, Arizona Democrats within the Senate voted to extend the deadline for bill hearings, after a dormant, almost total abortion ban bill from 1864 could not be repealed.

According to AP News, this bill that predates Arizona’s statehood allows only for life saving abortion procedures for women. There are no exceptions for cases of rape or incest and carries a jail sentence of two to five years for any doctor or people of assistance who carry out an abortion. There are also additional criminal charges that can be tacked on for performing an abortion past 15 weeks of pregnancy, according to the ruling.

According to NPR News, Arizona doctors had been allowed to perform abortions up to 15 weeks into a woman’s pregnancy since Dec. 2022, due to the lower court’s interpretation of state laws. According to AP News, Arizona Attorney General Chris Mayers had urged the higher courts to hold an injunction on the 1864 law following the overturning of Roe v. Wade. However, on April 9 this law was voted to be upheld by the Arizona Supreme Court, since the overturning of Roe v. Wade made it so there was nothing to block the courts from upholding the law. According to CNN, there was also turmoil within the House from Conservative lawmakers. Hearings for a repeal vote were shot down twice within the Arizona House, leaving abortion rights activists and Democrats frustrated. 

“We have deeply held beliefs,” said Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma in a quote from AP News. “And I would ask everyone in this chamber to respect the fact that someone wants to believe that abortion is in fact the murder of children.”

This decision has received national recognition, and calls for Federal protections on abortion rights from both Pres. Joe Biden and Vice Pres. Kamala Harris. “Millions of Arizonans will soon live under an even more extreme and dangerous abortion ban, which fails to protect women even when their health is at risk or in tragic cases of rape or incest,” criticized President Biden in NPR News. “This ruling is a result of the extreme agenda of Republican elected officials who are committed to ripping away women’s freedom.” Vice President Harris also made a trip on April 12 to Tucson, AZ to speak on the importance of abortion access. 

For the time being, there is still a way for Arizona residents to get access to an abortion. According to NPR News, the Supreme court ruling abstained from enforcement for the next 14 days, which has allowed Planned Parenthood to still provide abortions as long as they can. Time may be running out though. According to AP News, plaintiffs who want to challenge the case say it could take at least months before they are able to bring their arguments to court.