Abortion ban: Arizona upholds 160-year-old Civil War-era law banning pregnancy terminations

Arizona’s Supreme Court has upheld a 160-year-old that bans almost all instances of abortion in the state.

The 1864 law makes abortion punishable by two to five years in prison, with an exception for where the pregnancy puts the patient’s life at risk. The law, which predates Arizona becoming a state or women being given the vote in the US, will likely mean that abortion services in Arizona will almost come to a complete stop.

Abortions up until the 15th week of pregnancy will continue until late May, with the Attorney General stating that the law would not be enforced until 45 days after the Supreme Court issued a final ruling. The court agreed to review the law following an appeal by right-wing law firm Alliance Defending Freedom, in which they protested against the 2022 ruling allowing terminations up until 15 weeks.

The Supreme Court voted four to two in favour of overturning the decision, stating that the Civil War-era law was “now enforceable”. The court said in its ruling that this was due to there being no federal or state protections for abortion. It comes two years after Roe v Wade was overturned, which led to protections for more than 20 states being removed after more than 40 years.

Alliance Defending Freedom said that the ruling was “significant” and that the re-enforcement of the law would “protect the lives of countless, innocent unborn children”. However, Attorney General Kris Mayes said: "Today's decision to reimpose a law from when Arizona wasn't a state, the Civil War was raging, and women couldn't even vote will go down in history as a stain on our state."

The ruling in Arizona is set to have an impact on the upcoming elections in the US. Democrats are hoping that the move will boost their chances in the polls with those against the strict abortion laws, with Vice President Kamala Harris set to travel to the state on Friday, April 12. There will be a referendum in November in which Arizona voter my be able to overturn the Supreme Court’s ruling.