Arizona‘s Civil War-era abortion ban is no longer expected to take effect in the state after looming questions about when the ban would be enacted.
Earlier this year, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that an 1864 near-total abortion ban was enforceable, creating chaos among lawmakers and residents. The state’s legislature voted to repeal the ban after a few failed attempts, and the bill was signed by Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-AZ) and reverted the state to a 2022 15-week ban.
Due to Arizona state law, however, there was expected to be a period before the new law went into effect but when the 1864 abortion ban was enforceable because new laws in Arizona do not take effect until 91 days after the end of the legislative session. The exact end date of the legislative calendar was unknown, but the legislative session ended on June 15.
This means the repeal of the ban will go into effect Sept. 14, and the near-total ban was set to go into effect Sept. 27, so there will be no overlap.
“Because the repeal will be effective before Sept. 27, that means the territorial ban will not take effect in Arizona, so long as current court orders remain in place,” state Attorney General Kris Mayes spokesman Richie Taylor confirmed to the Arizona Republic. “Accordingly, Arizonans can still obtain, and providers cannot be prosecuted for, providing abortion care in accordance with Title 36.”
Mayes previously said she would not prosecute abortion providers or those who seek them in the state.
Arizona’s 2022 abortion law restricts abortion after 15 weeks, even in cases of rape or incest. The law was signed by then-Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican, and went into effect after Roe v. Wade was overturned.
Voters will get the chance to consider a referendum on the ballot in November that would expand abortion access back to how the law stood under Roe. Before the 2022 ban, Arizona women had the right to terminate a pregnancy before the point of fetal viability, which is considered to be between 22 and 24 weeks.
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The ballot referendum would restore Roe protections, as well as enshrine in the state’s constitution that every Arizonan “has a fundamental right to abortion.” It also says the state could not in the future “enact, adopt or enforce any law, regulation, policy or practice that … denies, restricts or interferes with that right before fetal viability.”
Arizona Abortion Access Act, the group behind the referendum, says they have far more than the 383,923 valid signatures required to get on the ballot.