#Politics

Arizona lawmakers poised to try again to repeal 1864 abortion ban amid mounting pressure on Republicans



PHOENIX — Arizona lawmakers kicked off a highly anticipated legislative session Wednesday, amid mounting pressure on Republicans to repeal a near-total ban on abortion from 1864 that was upheld by the battleground state’s Supreme Court.

Following that ruling, Republicans across Arizona and the country — including former President Donald Trump — called on state legislators to repeal the ban as the party has continued to deal with blowback on the issue of reproductive rights in the nearly two years since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade.

The Arizona Supreme Court ruling last week allowed a Civil War-era law in Arizona to stand that made abortion a felony punishable by two to five years in prison for anyone who performs one or helps a woman obtain one. The law — which was codified in 1901 and again in 1913, after Arizona gained statehood — outlaws abortion from the moment of conception but includes an exception to save the woman’s life.

The bombshell decision added the swing state to the growing lists of places where abortion care is effectively banned — and set off an explosion of political activity. Democrats furiously undertook efforts to repeal the ban, while Republicans scrambled feverishly to offset the political fallout by discussing a series of possible contingencies.

Those options include pushing alternative ballot measures to compete with a proposed constitutional amendment to expand abortion rights in the state, according to a leaked strategy document circulated among Arizona Republicans obtained Monday by NBC News

The document made no mention of repealing the ban and Arizona House Republicans squashed an effort by Democrats during their session last Wednesday to repeal the ban.

Despite the growing pressure on Arizona Republicans, Democratic lawmakers face an uphill climb in repealing the ban: Republicans hold a narrow two-seat majority in both legislative chambers, meaning that Democrats need three Republicans in both the state House and state Senate to repeal the ban.

Arizona political insiders and experts told NBC News that because Republicans are considering so many varying courses of action Wednesday, it remained unclear whether, or when, a bill to repeal the ban will even be introduced during the session.



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