For the third time in three weeks, Democrats in the Arizona Legislature will attempt on Wednesday to pass a bill that would repeal the near-total ban on abortion from 1864 that was upheld by the battleground state’s Supreme Court earlier this month.
Following that ruling, Republicans across the U.S. — including former President Donald Trump — called on legislators in the state to repeal the ban amid a broader political blowback against the GOP on the issue of reproductive rights in the nearly two years since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade.
But Republicans in the Arizona state House, where the party holds a narrow majority, have so far remained steadfast in not allowing a repeal bill to advance.
The latest iteration of that sequence occurred last Wednesday when Democrats in the state House introduced a bill to repeal the 160-year-old abortion ban and filed a motion to Republican House leaders requesting an immediate vote. The vote failed, prompting Democrats to move again to force a vote, which also fell short.
One Republican, state Rep. Matt Gress, joined state Democrats in that effort to repeal the abortion ban, while another, Rep. David Cook, has signaled support for the bill but didn’t vote to advance it.
Under Arizona House rules, a majority of the chamber that includes the speaker is required to vote to suspend the rules to hold an immediate vote.
Republican state House Speaker Ben Toma has repeatedly expressed his opposition to repealing the ban, and it remains unclear heading into Wednesday’s proceedings whether lawmakers have devised a strategy to circumvent Toma.
Meanwhile, members of the state Senate, where Republicans also hold a narrow majority, voted last week voted in favor of a motion to introduce a bill that would repeal the Civil War-era abortion ban. Two Republicans joined every Democrat in the chamber on the vote.
If state House lawmakers were to move to advance a repeal on Wednesday, lawmakers in the state Senate would then, under chamber rules in Arizona, be required to read their bill on the floor on three occasions in three separate sessions, meaning it wouldn’t be on track for full passage until mid-May.
Wednesday’s proceedings will mark the latest chapter in the fight over abortion rights in the crucial battleground following the Arizona Supreme Court’s bombshell ruling earlier this month.
The law the conservative-leaning court ruled was enforceable makes abortion a felony punishable by two to five years in prison for anyone who performs one or helps a woman obtain one. The law was codified in 1901 — and again in 1913, after Arizona gained statehood — and outlaws abortion from the moment of conception but includes an exception to save the woman’s life.
The law is set to go into effect on June 8, though Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes has said her office is working to find ways to delay that date.
Despite the continued repeal efforts, voters are likely to have the power this November to decide on the future of abortion rights in the state themselves.
Organizers in the state are likely to succeed in placing a proposed constitutional amendment on the November ballot that would create a “fundamental right” to receive abortion care up until fetal viability, or about the 24th week of pregnancy. If voters approve the ballot measure, it would effectively undo the 1864 ban, which now remains law in the state.
It would also bar the state from restricting abortion care in situations in which the health or life of the pregnant person is at risk after the point of viability, according to the treating health care professional.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
