Arizona Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs on Thursday signed a repeal of a 160-year-old law that outlawed most abortions within the state.
“As we speak, we’re doing what 23 governors and 55 legislatures refused to do, and I’m so proud to be those that bought this job carried out,” Hobbs stated on the invoice signing ceremony, sooner or later after the repeal measure cleared the Republican-controlled state Senate in a 16-14 vote.
“I’m proud to signal this invoice and supply a second of aid for Arizonans,” she added. “We nonetheless have work to do.”
Below Arizona regulation, the repeal gained’t go into impact till 90 days after the top of the legislative session, which is predicted to happen in June or July.
Consequently, the long-dormant regulation — anticipated to enter impact in June — may stay on the books till November.
It could supersede the state’s present 15-week abortion ban.
The centuries-old regulation set off a firestorm after the state Supreme Courtroom ordered officials to enforce it last month in mild of the Supreme Court’s June 2022 reversal of Roe v. Wade.
The pre-statehood regulation makes no exceptions for circumstances of rape or incest, and the state Supreme Courtroom urged that medical doctors could possibly be prosecuted for performing abortions as soon as it goes into impact.
Abortion rights advocates in Arizona say they’ve gathered sufficient signatures to put a poll measure amending the state structure on Nov. 5 of this 12 months.
“As we speak, we should always not relaxation, however we should always recommit to defending girls’s bodily autonomy, their skill to make their very own healthcare choices, and the flexibility to regulate their lives,” Hobbs stated.
“Let me be clear: I’ll do every thing in my energy to guard our reproductive freedoms, as a result of I belief girls to make the selections which can be greatest for them, and know politicians don’t belong within the physician’s workplace.”