Arizona top court revives 160-year-old near total abortion ban
- Arizona’s original 1864 law bans all abortions except those performed to save the life of the woman
- The ruling in a key swing state comes just months ahead of November’s US presidential election
The top court in Arizona on Tuesday ruled a 160-year-old near total ban on abortion is enforceable, thrusting the issue to the top of the agenda in a key US presidential election swing state.
The ruling – allowing for doctors to be jailed for up to five years – is the latest in a series of state-level measures on the deeply divisive issue of reproductive rights, which is expected to play an outsize role in this November’s contest between US President Joe Biden and his Republican challenger Donald Trump.
In a statement issued almost immediately after the Arizona news broke, Biden slammed the “cruel ban”.
“This ruling is a result of the extreme agenda of Republican elected officials who are committed to ripping away women’s freedom,” he said.
Citing the US Supreme Court’s 2022 ruling that ended a nationwide guarantee of abortion access and instead allowed states to set their own rules, Arizona’s top court said a local law dating from the US Civil War era could stand.