April 9th, 2024, the Arizona State Supreme Court ruled the state can enforce an 1864 law criminalizing nearly all abortions.
The law orders prosecution for “a person who provides, supplies or administers to a pregnant woman, or procures such woman to take any medicine, drugs or substance, or uses or employs any instrument or other means whatever, with intent thereby to procure the miscarriage of such woman, unless it is necessary to save her life.”
They have now subjected all women to a law written before we were an actual state, before women could vote, in the midst of a civil war, when husbands could legally rape their wives and women were considered property.
We join 14 other states that have effectively banned all abortions, even in the case rape or incest. The only option, when the health of the mother is at risk. But we’ve already seen how well that works. We’ve all heard the horror stories -women with an ectopic pregnancy (it’s in the fallopian tube not the uterus), a partial spontaneous miscarriage, fetus that’s died in the womb, one that’s not viable, and more- have still forced women to a point near death before interventions are considered “legally acceptable”.
The Arizona Supreme Court said in its decision, “in light of this opinion, physicians are now on notice that all abortions, except those necessary to save a woman’s life, are illegal,” adding that additional criminal and regulatory sanctions may apply to abortions performed after 15 weeks.”
And doctors or anyone who assists in an abortion could face 2-5 years in prison.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes called the ruling “unconscionable and an affront to freedom,” and stressed that she would not prosecute any doctor or woman under the “draconian law.”
But that’s not going to stop the irreparable harm to those with hospitals and providers unsure what they really can do, and when.
This is where we’ve come. State by state it’s legislators, not the people, who define what a woman can do with her body.
Mefapristone, the most widely used abortion pill, safer than Tylenol, is waiting for the Supreme Court to decide if it too will be banned countrywide. Many states are hoping to enact personhood laws that criminalize anything that prevents or interferes with conception from in vitro fertilization (IVF) used to create life, to even prohibiting contraception- the very reason women could finally control their bodies, their destiny and their lives.
This has to stop and the only way it will is if we make our voices heard. 70% of the American population is in favor of women’s rights and abortions, yet it’s the minority who decide the rules. No one should have to prove “reasonable cause” to get the care they need. No one should have the right to force a woman to carry a pregnancy to term, viable or not. Especially not a politician.
Many states, including Arizona, are trying to get enough signatures so that an initiative enshrining women’s rights will be on the November ballot. They have all passed in other states when put to the voters to choose. But even if individual states achieve this goal, those who get voted into Congress could revoke them at any time by creating a law that bans abortions nationwide. If they take away our rights federally, it won’t matter what individual states say. That’s exactly why our 1864 law never mattered and wasn’t legally removed. Roe v. Wade superseded it.
Don’t be fooled by politicians who’ve made it clear in the past exactly where they stand and what they will do if given the opportunity.
On June 24, 2022, “The Conservative Circus with James T Harrison”, aired an interview with Kari Lake, now running for Senator, when she failed to win the gubernatorial race in 2020. She said,
“I’m incredibly thrilled that we are going to have a great law that’s already on the books (she’s speaking about the 1864 law), so it will prohibit abortions in Arizona and I think we’re going to be paving the way and setting course for others.
When Roe v. Wade was overturned, “trigger laws” went into effect (laws no longer enforceable because another one superseded them), like our 1864 abortion ban, or the Comstock law being used as a reason to prohibit the nationwide sale of mefipristone.
Keri Lake called the 1864 “a great law”, made clear she is against all abortions and given the opportunity, she would not only vote for a federal ban, but make contraception illegal and criminalize in vitro fertilization. Now she’s running for Senate and claims her long held beliefs have changed. Beware of people who made their stances known in the past but now say something different. Those who will say whatever it takes to get the power they want to then control lives. Every Senator or Congressperson we send to Washington has an impact on our lives. From their personal votes to the judges they pick, all can decide our fates for decades. We’ve already seen how much one vote has mattered.
Our local representatives have the ability to overturn the Arizona Supreme Court and make abortions legal in this state. This cannot continue. We must stand up with one voice for all women. Call and email your state legislator. Tell them abortion and women’s health cannot be returned to 1864. Back-alley abortions, knitting needles and healthcare hacks will never again be tolerated.
-https://www.politifact.com/factchecks/2022/oct/12/katie-hobbs/az-gop-governor-hopeful-lake-called-near-total-abo/
-https://www.reuters.com/world/us/arizonas-top-court-revives-19th-century-abortion-ban-2024-04-09/
-https://apnews.com/article/arizona-abortion-restrictions-1864-9c68866d69dca38c728dd27b80592e8f
-https://www.azleg.gov/findmylegislator/