Arizona’s Supreme Court struck down the state’s abortion law. The law that will go into effect was passed in 1864, before Arizona became a state. Were those the good old days, when women had no rights and couldn’t vote? Do Republicans believe in liberty for men only?
The Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld a 160-year-old abortion ban that could shutter abortion clinics in the state, saying the law that existed before Arizona became a state could be enforced going forward.
The ruling indicated the ban can only be prospectively enforced and the court stayed enforcement for 14 days. But it’s already causing political earthquakes….
The pre-statehood law mandates two to five years in prison for anyone aiding an abortion, except if the procedure is necessary to save the life of the mother. A law from the same era requiring at least a year in prison for a woman seeking an abortion was repealed in 2021.
Enforcement would mean the end of legal abortions in Arizona, though some providers said they will continue offering abortions at least for a time — likely through May — because of a prior court ruling. And, the state’s top Democrats have taken steps to thwart that enforcement. Reproductive rights activists say it means Arizona women can expect potential health complications.
Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs issued an executive order last year giving all power to enforce abortion laws to the state attorney general. The current attorney general, Democrat Kris Mayes, has vowed not to enforce any abortion bans. But her decision and Hobbs’ order could be challenged by one of the state’s county attorneys.
The decision was 4-2, with Justices John R. Lopez IV, Clint Bolick, James P. Beene and Kathryn H. King in the majority. Lopez wrote the majority opinion, while Vice Chief Justice Ann A. Scott Timmer penned a dissent. Chief Justice Robert M. Brutinel joined Timmer.
I recognized the name of Clint Bolick. He used to be director of litigation at the Goldwater Institute. A libertarian, he led the legal fight for school choice. I can’t reconcile his libertarianism with his opposition to women’s freedom to choose whether to have a child.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Backwater morons.
And thus starts the exodus of many businesses. And likely the end of new arrivals in the state.
Fortunately for Arizona, most people who move there are beyond child bearing age.
Comment: if the anti-abortion law was passed when Arizona was only a territory, does it retain any legal validity? (The elder of my four aunts was born in Arizona Territory, so this interests me…) Tom Goff
I don’t see how unless the newly-created state voted to incorporate territorial law. Just a guess.