Arizona: Katie Hobbs signs law to repeal 1864 abortion ban

Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs signed a law to repeal the 1864 ban on much abortion, following its passage in the state Legislature. The Democratic caucus and some Republicans in both the state House of Representatives and Senate supported the measure.

"Today, we did what 23 governors and 55 legislatures refused to do and repealed the 1864 Civil War-era total abortion ban. I will do everything in my power to protect our reproductive freedoms, because I trust women to make the decisions that are best for them, and know politicians do not belong in the doctor’s office," Hobbs said as soon as she signed the law.

"Since the Dobbs decision leaked two years ago today, I’ve been calling for the legislature to repeal the 1864 abortion ban. Today, I’m so thrilled to have signed that bill into law," added the governor with a message published on social media.

Several Republicans joined the Democratic vote

Before it reached Hobbs' office in April, the Arizona Supreme Court, with four votes in favor and two against, reinstated the 1864 law, which considered abortion a crime in the majority of its cases.

After that, the Arizona Democratic Party presented a bill to annul that court order and legalize abortion. In debates in the House of Representatives prior to the vote on the initiative, three Republican legislators, Matt Gress, Tim Dunn and Justin Wilmeth, already expressed their intentions and subsequently aligned themselves with the Democrats and allowed the bill to advance to the Senate.

In the Arizona Senate, Republican Senators Shawnna Bolick and TJ Shope joined the Democratic vote and allowed Hobbs to receive the bill to sign it.

Once it comes into force, the law will prohibit abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions only in cases of medical emergency. There will be no exceptions in cases of rape or incest.