Arizona Republican lawmakers again quash effort to repeal 1864 abortion ban

PHOENIX — For the second time in two weeks, Arizona Republican lawmakers rejected an attempt to repeal a near-total ban on abortion from 1864 that was upheld by the battleground state’s Supreme Court.

The move to again block the Democratic-led effort came amid mounting pressure on state Republicans to repeal the ban, including from former President Donald Trump and Arizona GOP Senate candidate Kari Lake.

Still, Democratic lawmakers have faced an uphill climb in repealing the ban, as Arizona Republicans hold a narrow two-seat majority in both legislative chambers. On Wednesday, only one Republican joined state House Democrats in their effort to repeal the abortion ban.

Moments into the highly anticipated state House legislative session on Wednesday, Democrats introduced a bill to repeal the Civil War-era ban and filed a motion to Republican House leaders requesting an immediate vote.

Under Arizona House rules, a majority of the chamber must vote to suspend the rules to hold an immediate vote and that majority must include the House Speaker. Republican House Speaker Ben Toma has repeatedly expressed his opposition to repealing the ban.

The vote failed, prompting Democrats to move again to force a vote, which also fell short.

“The last thing we should be doing today is rushing a bill through the legislative process to repeal a law that has been enacted and affirmed by the legislature several times,” Toma said following the first vote to kill advancement of the ban.

“And I would ask everyone in this chamber to respect the fact that some of us believe that abortion is in fact the murder of children,” he added.

The House adjourned for a recess following the second vote. It remained unclear whether lawmakers would entertain further votes or debate regarding the ban when they return.

The state Senate is scheduled to gavel in its own session later Wednesday afternoon. It remains possible that lawmakers in that chamber, where Republicans also hold a two-seat majority, could try to advance a bill to repeal the ban.

Wednesday’s proceedings marked the latest chapter in the fight over abortion rights in the crucial battleground following the Arizona Supreme Court’s ruling last week that allowed a Civil War-era law in Arizona to stand.

That law 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.

Following that ruling, Republicans across Arizona and the country 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 bombshell decision also 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. Arizona House Republicans blocked an effort by Democrats during their session last Wednesday to repeal the ban.