- State Supreme Court ruled 160-year-old law could be enforced last week
- 1864 law banning abortion is one of the strictest in the country
- GOP state lawmakers blocked effort to repeal in defiance of some national Republican leaders
Arizona Republicans in the state House blocked a second effort to repeal the state's 1864 law banning abortion which has sparked outrage nationwide after the state's Supreme Court ruled the 160-year-old law could be enforced.
The state GOP lawmakers effort goes against the urging of some prominent Republicans including former President Donald Trump and Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake who have called for the state legislature to act.
On Wednesday, Democratic state lawmakers launched a second effort to repeal the law. But their effort failed after Republicans refused to hold a vote to repeal it.
Republican state lawmakers in the chamber could be seen applauding after debate on repealing the law was blocked. One lawmaker even raised his fists in victory.
Abortion rights protesters in Scottsdale, Arizona on April 9 after the state's Supreme Court ruled a 1864 law banning abortion in nearly all cases could be enforced
Ab abortion rights protester holding a sign 'Donald Trump did this' as the state faces a 1864 law banning abortion. The issue has taken center stage in the battleground state ahead of the November election
The motion to consider repealing the law came down 30-30, which allowed Republicans to block it. Only one Republican voted with Democrats.
Democrats in the Arizona House slammed GOP leadership and questioned why they were refusing to change procedural rules to address the issue.
'Yes, we do have a process but that process is broken constantly in this chamber,' said Democrat Rep. Alma Hernandez. 'I don't understand why specifically on this we have to follow the process that we're being told we have to follow.'
Just over a week ago, the Arizona Supreme Court released the bombshell decision that Arizona could enforce the 1864 law which effectively bans abortion in the state.
The Civil War-era law passed nearly 50 years before Arizona was even a state does not include exceptions for rape or incest.
The decision sparked condemnation nationally including from both Democratic and some Republican political candidates who called for an immediate solution.
A week ago, Democrats attempted to advance a bill in both chambers of the state legislature but were blocked by Republicans.
Both chambers of Arizona's state legislature are controlled by Republican.
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs speaking to reporters after the state's Supreme Court decision. On Wednesday, she issued a statement slamming Republicans for blocking efforts to repeal the law saying a 'law from 1864 written by 27 men cannot be allowed to govern the lives of millions of Arizona women'
Following the latest effort failing, Democratic Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs slammed GOP lawmakers.
'Republican extremists in the House have yet again failed to do the right thing,' she said in a statement. 'In just one week living under this new reality, women, doctors, and healthcare providers have already begun to feel the devastating effects of living under a total abortion ban. We cannot go on like this.'
She said she would continue to call on the legislature to repeal the law.
Democrats have taken aim at Republicans over abortion rights as the issue has proven to be motivating one in a series of recent election ever since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade in 2022 ending the federal right to an abortion.
Vice President Harris addressed Arizona's 1864 abortion ban in a speech in Tucson on Friday. She blamed Donald Trump for Roe v Wade being overturned which paved the way for the law
Vice President Kamala Harris, who has been leading the Biden administration charge on abortion rights, traveled to the state on Friday where she slammed Republicans over the issue of abortion access being returned to the states.
'Donald Trump did this,' she said.
'Just like he did in Arizona, he basically wants to take America back to the 1800s. But we are not going to let that happen,' Harris said. 'This is 2024, not the 1800s, and we're not going back.'
Donald Trump said on Friday said the U.S. no longer needed a federal abortion ban because 'we broke Roe v Wade.' Last week, he said the Arizona Supreme Court went 'too far' with its decision the 1864 law banning abortion in the state could be enforced, but Republicans have not heeded his words to address it
Trump has praised the overturning of Roe and taken credit for nominating the Supreme Court justices who helped overturn it.
The ex-president recently announced his stance on abortion, saying he believes it should be left to the states.
But in a signal of just how political potent the issue has become for Republicans he agreed the Arizona Supreme Court went too far and suggested Arizona legislators would fix it immediately.
When pressed on the issue last Friday, Trump said he no longer felt the need to sign a federal abortion ban, something he previously signaled he was considering.
'We don't need it any longer because we broke Roe v. Wade, and we did something that nobody thought was possible. We gave it back to the states and the states are working very brilliantly in some cases,' he explained.
Arizona GOP Senate candidate Kari Lake also came out against the 1864 law and called on lawmakers to take action despite previously calling it a 'great law.'
The effort to get an abortion amendment directly on the ballot in November is on track according to activists. They announced they collected more than the necessary number of signatures even before the state Supreme Court decision. The deadline to submit signatures is July 3.
