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Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs' signing of the repeal of a Civil War-era ban on nearly all abortions was a momentous occasion for the women dedicated to consigning the 19th-century law to history. Current and former state lawmakers, along with reproductive rights advocates, gathered in the 9th-floor rotunda outside Hobbs' office, embracing and capturing the moment with selfies. Some were moved to tears.
Democratic Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton, speaking during the signing ceremony, described it as a historic and thrilling moment. She emphasized the significance of moving away from outdated laws that no longer align with the present.
Stahl and Sen. Anna Hernandez, also a Democrat, spoke at the ceremony for their efforts in repealing the long-dormant law, which banned all abortions except those necessary to save a patient's life. The repeal, which won final legislative approval in a 16-14 Senate vote, saw some Republicans joining Democrats during a session marked by personal, emotional, and biblical arguments. Graphic descriptions of abortion procedures and the sound of a fetal heartbeat were shared, alongside warnings against imposing religious beliefs through legislation.
During the session, abortion-ban advocates in the Senate gallery jeered at Republican state Sen. Shawnna Bolick for her vote in favor of repeal, leading to her being scolded by GOP colleagues. Bolick, who is married to state Supreme Court Justice Clint Bolick, faces a retention election in November. The House had previously approved the repeal, with three Republicans breaking ranks.
Hobbs emphasized that this is just the beginning of the fight to protect reproductive health care in Arizona. The repeal is set to take effect 90 days after the legislative session ends, typically in June or July, after the budget is approved. Dr. Gabrielle Goodrick, founder of Phoenix-based Camelback Family Planning, which performs a third of abortions in Arizona, expressed relief at removing this archaic and inhumane law from the books.
Following the repeal, a 2022 statute banning abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy will become Arizona's prevailing abortion law. However, abortion rights advocates, led by Planned Parenthood Arizona, have filed a motion with the state Supreme Court to prevent the 1846 law from taking hold before the repeal does, which could lead to a pause in abortion services for girls and women.
The 19th-century law had been blocked in Arizona since 1973 with the U.S. Supreme Court's Roe v. Wade decision, which guaranteed the constitutional right to an abortion nationwide. When the federal law was overturned in 2022, Arizona's law was left in legal limbo. Last month, the Arizona Supreme Court reinstated the ban, providing no exceptions for survivors of rape or incest and suggesting that doctors could be prosecuted for violating the law, with a maximum five-year prison sentence if convicted. The anti-abortion group defending the ban, Alliance Defending Freedom, maintains that county prosecutors can begin enforcing it once the Supreme Court's decision becomes final.
Democratic Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes is pushing to delay the enforcement of the ban until late July. Meanwhile, abortion-rights advocates are collecting signatures for a proposed ballot measure that would enshrine reproductive rights in Arizona's constitution, allowing abortions until a fetus could survive outside the womb, typically around 24 weeks, with exceptions to save the parent's life or protect their physical or mental health. Republican lawmakers are considering putting one or more competing abortion proposals before voters in November.
In other parts of the U.S. this week, supporters of a South Dakota abortion rights initiative submitted far more signatures than required to make the ballot this fall, while in Florida, a ban took effect against most abortions after six weeks of pregnancy, before many people even know they are pregnant.
President Joe Biden's campaign team believes that anger over the fall of Roe v. Wade will give them a political advantage in battleground states like Arizona, while the issue has divided Republican leaders.
For the Democratic women who led the effort to repeal the ban in Arizona, Thursday was a celebratory moment but also a reminder that there is more work to be done. In an interview before the signing ceremony, Stahl Hamilton talked about her early years on the Navajo Nation, where federally funded clinics still limit abortion services. She recounted her sister-in-law's struggles with two difficult pregnancies, one resulting in a stillbirth and another in a nonviable pregnancy where the decision was made to terminate.
Hobbs highlighted the progress made since the Civil War-era ban was passed, noting that all 27 lawmakers at the time were men, and women couldn't vote. Now, the Arizona Legislature is roughly evenly divided between men and women.
Hernandez became involved in politics after her younger brother, Alejandro, was killed in a police shooting in April 2019. She spoke of her nieces and the hope that they will grow up in a state where they have rights.
Former Democratic state Rep. Athena Salman, who proposed a repeal of the 19th-century law in 2019, said she can't stop thinking about her daughters and how future generations will not have to live under the restrictions and interference she experienced.