On Tuesday, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that a near-total abortion ban first passed in 1864 can be re-implemented and enforced by the state government, in a massive victory for the pro-life movement.
As reported by Politico, the 160-year-old law bans abortions at any stage of pregnancy, and features only one exception for saving the life of the mother. Former Attorney General Mark Brnovich (R-Ariz.) had previously declined to enforce the law until the state supreme court made its ruling, and allowed for a 45-day grace period after the court’s ruling before enforcement would begin; thus, the law will go into effect sometime in May.
The decision comes as abortion re-enters the political discourse with just 7 months until the November election. President Donald Trump issued a video statement reaffirming his stance on the issue, declaring that it is up to the individual states to deal with abortion on a state-by-state basis, as the ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization eliminated the federal “right” to an abortion and made it a states’ rights issue.
Far-left activists have already attempted to weaponize the ruling ahead of the November elections. Mini Timmaraju, president of Reproductive Freedom for All, claimed with no evidence that the ruling would “cause untold harm to the people of Arizona.” She also said that the decision is “a painful reminder of exactly why we need to send Rep. Gallego to the Senate and reelect President Joe Biden and Kamala Harris to the White House: so we can lock the federal right to abortion into law and undo these dangerous bans.”
Vice President Kamala Harris is set to visit the state on Friday, most likely in response to the decision. Arizona is considered a crucial swing state in the presidential election, and will also feature a hotly-contested Senate election that could determine the balance of power in the U.S. Senate regardless of which party wins the presidency.
Surprisingly, even leading Republicans in the state have voiced their disapproval of the court’s ruling. Former Governor Doug Ducey (R-Ariz.), said in a statement on X that the court’s decision was “not the outcome I would have preferred,” and demanded that state legislators “heed the will of the people and address this issue with a policy that is workable and reflective of our electorate.” Senate candidate Kari Lake, considered the frontrunner for the GOP nomination, called on the legislature to “come up with an immediate common sense solution that Arizonans can support.”
Attorney General Kris Mayes (D-Ariz.) has not confirmed whether or not her office will enforce the law, though she issued a statement denouncing it as “bonkers,” and “not something that the people of this state want to see imposed on women here.”
“A policy matter of this gravity must ultimately be resolved by our citizens through the legislature or the initiative process,” the supreme court said in its 4-2 opinion. “We defer, as we are constitutionally obligated to do, to the legislature’s judgment, which is accountable to, and thus reflects, the mutable will of our citizens.”