A trio of Republican House members joined their Democratic counterparts in voting Wednesday to overturn Arizona’s contentious 1864 ban on abortions, which was reinstated by a court decision earlier this month and only permits abortions in extreme cases where the mother’s life is in danger.
It was finally a vote of 32 to 28.
Republican state representative Stephanie Stahl Hamilton told ABC News’ Jaclyn Lee, “I’ve known for a while that the votes were there, it just takes a lot of fortitude, a lot of spine.” Steinberg is a Democrat.
While Hamilton would not reveal the specifics of her phone talks with Republicans the evening prior to the vote, she did state that they left her feeling cautiously optimistic.
“The eyes of the world were watching Arizona, and that’s not hyperbole, and so these are decisions that we need to make for people and if you were able to talk to folks in these districts, you would find that this is an issue where they are showing up and representing the people in their district, which is what they were elected to do,” he added.
The state Senate may consider the measure next week once it moves on to the House.
Senate colleagues should “quickly” concentrate on the issue, according to State Rep. Matt Gress, who was one of three Republicans who sided with the Democrats and was relieved of his appropriations committee assignment by Speaker Ben Toma.
“I refuse to buy into the false notion pushed by the extremes on both sides of this issue that we cannot respect and protect women and defend new life at the same time,” he wrote in a press release.
Another Republican who voted to repeal the law, State Rep. Tim Dunn, criticized it, calling it “not perfect” and pointing out that it does not include any exceptions for rape or incest. A group opposed to abortion has previously stated their intention to canvass for people who oppose Dunn, Gress, and state Rep. Justin Wilmeth—three Republicans who supported the repeal—by knocking on doors.
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On Wednesday, the Senate independently reviewed its own repeal bill for the abortion ban and did not protest, establishing a parallel vote; however, this is now probably irrelevant due to the House bill’s approval.
It appears likely that the House bill will pass the Senate with the support of two Republican senators, paving the way for it to be signed into law by Governor Katie Hobbs.
After the legislative session ends (which must be before June 30), the prohibition on abortion would be repealed 90 days later.
Democratic state senator Eva Burch told ABC News’ Elizabeth Schulze that the ban’s existence is a “stain on history” because it dates back to an era when women couldn’t vote and the age of consent was 10. This was during a previous, unsuccessful attempt to pass the repeal bill in the state House.
Following the Arizona Supreme Court’s ruling that the restriction, which dates back to the Civil War, is enforceable, it has caused a stir in state politics. On Wednesday, some Republican lawmakers voiced their strong opposition to efforts to repeal the ban.
Trump, former Arizona governor Doug Ducey, and Senate candidate Kari Lake are among prominent conservatives who have claimed not to support the 1864 prohibition but rather to support limitations on abortion in general.
“The people of this state are opposed to this total ban on abortion that the Arizona Supreme Court has ruled on,” Lake stated in a social media video message earlier this month.
On Wednesday, House Speaker Toma stood to contest the vote in the chamber. In opposition to “rushing” any repeal legislation, the leader has been quite outspoken.
It would have been responsible and wise to let the courts determine the pre-Roe law’s constitutionality, he said in a subsequent remark. The opposite is true; for reasons I do not comprehend, we are jumping to conclusions.
Rep. Alexander Kolodin (R-Kolodin), a Republican from the state, made an accusation during Wednesday’s session that the body was acting in response to political demands and compared abortion to the murder of “infants.”
“At the end of the day, your politics is important but it is not worth our souls,” stated the politician.
Jacqueline Parker, another Republican state lawmaker, condemned the GOP’s abstention votes, comparing it to “akin to slavery.”
In November’s election, the matter will most certainly be brought to the attention of the voters.
The Arizona for Abortion Access group has been actively seeking to place a constitutional amendment that would guarantee access to abortion on the ballot in the state of Arizona. Given the success of abortion access in past elections following the overturning of Roe v. Wade’s countrywide protections in 2022, Democrats believe that could increase voter enthusiasm and turnout for their candidates.
The campaign has surpassed the required threshold of 500,000 signatures, but they will keep gathering them “until the wheels fall off,” according to a representative who talked with ABC News.
