Arizona’s Democratic governor on Thursday signed a bill overturning an 1864 law banning abortion, a month after the state’s supreme court said the Civil War-era rule was valid.
Katie Hobbs’ move caps a quick turnaround in the swing state, which is expected to play a crucial role in this year’s presidential election between incumbent Joe Biden and Donald Trump.
“I am proud to sign this bill and provide a moment of relief for Arizonans,” said Hobbs in a video posted on social media.
“We still have work to do.”
When the repeal comes into effect in the summer, terminations will be available again up to 15 weeks gestation.
The western state jumped headlong into the divisive abortion rights debate last month when its supreme court ruled a 19th-century edict was enforceable.
That law, which was drafted before Arizona became a state and before women had the right to vote, made it a criminal offense for anyone to carry out an abortion, and allowed for prison sentences of up to five years for anyone convicted.
It made no exceptions for rape or incest.
The court said since Arizona had relied on the now-overturned national right to abortion guaranteed by the landmark Roe v Wade, the state had to revert to the 160-year-old law.
The Arizona court ruling was the latest case of state-level bans being enacted in the post-Roe era, and caught Republican leaders off-guard.
Trump led the charge, calling on legislators to moderate the ban, insisting it had gone “too far,” while crowing that state-level rules on abortion were working as intended.
But the majority of Republicans in the local party were unmoved and staunchly opposed any change.
After several attempts by Democrats, the state’s House of Representatives succeeded last week when three moderate Republicans crossed the aisle.
That was repeated in the Senate — the upper house — on Wednesday when two of them abandoned their conservative colleagues to give the motion a 16-14 majority.
While rural Arizona remains deeply conservative, the state’s fast-growing cities increasingly return Democratic Party candidates to office.
The state hangs in the balance in presidential politics, with Biden having carried it in 2020 by just 10,000 votes.
Democrats have been collecting signatures to get an initiative on the November ballot that would see a more sweeping right to abortion enshrined in state law.
They hope that if people feel motivated to turn out for that initiative, they will vote in greater numbers for Biden.
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