Arizona's 1864 abortion ban is not expected to take effect, attorney general says
Saturday's end to the most recent legislative session means that a territorial-era, near-total abortion ban likely won't be taking effect, state Attorney General Kris Mayes says.
A near-total ban that called for imprisoning doctors who perform abortions was upheld by the Arizona Supreme Court on April 9. The Arizona Legislature repealed the ban when it passed House Bill 2677, which was subsequently signed into law by Democratic Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs.
Since new laws don't typically take effect until 91 days after the end of the legislative session, the question of whether the near-total ban would take effect was unclear. The most recent session ended Saturday, which means the repeal will take effect Sept. 14, Mayes' office confirmed.
Mayes, a Democrat, has previously said that enforcement of the 1864 ban would be stayed by court orders until at least Sept. 27.
"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," Mayes spokesperson Richie Taylor wrote Monday in an email.
"Accordingly, Arizonans can still obtain, and providers cannot be prosecuted for, providing abortion care in accordance with Title 36."
The Scottsdale-based Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative legal group that defended the 1864 law in the Arizona Supreme Court case, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Monday.
Dr. Gabrielle Goodrick, a family physician and owner of Camelback Family Planning in Phoenix, which provides abortion care, told The Arizona Republic "it's good news for patients of Arizona and our clinics" that the near-total ban likely won't take effect.
"Hopefully we can just practice as we have been and wait for the ballot initiative to be approved and go from there," Goodrick said. "We are not living in an ideal world, but we are able to provide over 90% of patients with care they need. Unfortunately, there is a percentage of patients we can't help, who are over our current gestational limit."
Arizonans are already living under an abortion law that allows abortions up to 15 weeks of gestation with no exceptions for rape or incest. The 15-week restriction is "cruel and difficult and affect people's health and is very onerous," Goodrick said.
Before September 2022, abortions in the state had been legal up until fetal viability, the point at which a fetus would have a significant chance of surviving outside the womb absent extraordinary measures. Fetal viability is typically at about 23 weeks or 24 weeks of gestation.
A proposed constitutional amendment, called the Arizona Abortion Access Act, is expected to appear on the November general election ballot. It would create a "fundamental right" to obtain an abortion anytime before viability.
The campaign against the ballot initiative is called "It Goes Too Far." Opponents say the language in the initiative was vague and overly broad.
"I'm optimistic that the ballot initiative will be approved and that our Constitution will guarantee access to abortion because it's the right thing to do," Goodrick said. "We've seen what's happened in states around the country that have bans ― more and more evidence is coming out about the harms."
Reach health-care reporter Stephanie Innes at [email protected] or at 480-313-3775. Follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, @stephanieinnes
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona abortion ban: 1864 law not expected to take effect