Arizona Democrats poised to continue effort to repeal 1864 abortion ban

When asked Tuesday how she feels about the Democratic effort in the Arizona State Legislature to repeal an 1864 abortion ban before it goes into effect, Democratic state Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton laughed.

"I was told that we could get a clean repeal tomorrow, but you know, who knows, right?" Stahl Hamilton said. "Who knows who loses their nerve, you know, the night before the day? Or minutes before, you know? All I know is we got to keep trying. And people in Arizona need us to continue to do everything we can to repeal this ban."

Earlier this month, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that the highly-restrictive 160-year-old law that bans nearly all abortions can be enforced — blocking the procedure in all cases except to save the life of the mother. If allowed to take effect on June 8, it would supersede current law, which allows abortions up to 15 weeks of pregnancy.  

Two previous attempts by Democrats to repeal the 1864 law by circumventing Republican House Speaker Ben Toma have failed to garner enough support for a vote on a rules change.

An April 17 effort to repeal the ban by means of a temporary rule change fell one vote short. With the support of two Senate Republicans, the upper chamber was able to make headway by getting a first reading of a repeal bill, but two more readings are required before it could be brought to a vote. 

Toma has been a vocal critic of Democrats on abortion. In a statement released immediately after the Arizona Supreme Court decision, Toma said that the legislature would "take the time needed to listen to our constituents and carefully consider appropriate actions, rather than rush legislation on a topic of this magnitude without a larger discussion."

He also claimed in his statement that "under the Democrats' view, partial birth abortions would be allowed, and minors could get abortions on demand without parental consent or a court order," even though there is no indication that a repeal of the 160-year-old law would allow either. 

Arizona Senate Democrats have cast doubt on the future of any repeal efforts moving forward in the House. Stahl Hamilton acknowledged that getting Republican support to repeal the ban is a tall task. Even though they seem to have the numbers to do so, she is concerned that at the last minute, minds will change.  

Democratic state Sen. Eva Burch told CBS News that the Republican caucus in Arizona is fractured and cannot agree on how to address the prospect of a Civil War era abortion ban going into effect. 

"I have no confidence at all that the repeal is going to go through, certainly not in the way that it should — not in the way that's being called for. We've already passed that point," Burch said.

"So do I think that they're going to come together and do the right thing?" Burch went on. "I don't have any faith that that's what's going to happen."

Democratic state Sen. Anna Hernandez also said she wasn't confident in the prospect of any repeal effort, but noted "anything can happen."

The legislature is set to meet Wednesday morning and once again attempt to address the issue. 

Arizona Right to Life, an anti-abortion group, is calling on legislators to oppose those efforts, and plans on organizing at the state capitol as well. 

In:
• Arizona
• Abortion

Shawna Mizelle

Shawna Mizelle is a 2024 campaign reporter for CBS News.

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