The state’s high court said it wouldn't interfere with the legislature's authority to craft abortion policy.
The state’s high court said it wouldn’t interfere with the legislature’s authority to craft abortion policy.
The possible enforcement of an 1864 law — passed decades before Arizona became a state or women received the right to vote — is expected to galvanize efforts to get a measure on the November ballot protecting the right to abortion in the state constitution, as well as boost efforts to elect Democratic officials across the state committed to protecting the procedure.
The decision is the second in as many weeks that could offer voters in November a chance to unwind anti-abortion statutes at the ballot box, following the recent ruling in Florida to allow a six-week near-total ban to take effect and an abortion-rights measure on the November ballot. It’s unclear how, whether and when the law will be enforced. Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes has said she would not prosecute anyone under the law, though local prosecutors could still do so. Any enforcement or threat of enforcement stands to wipe out access to the procedure in the swing state.
“A policy matter of this gravity must ultimately be resolved by our citizens through the legislature or the initiative process,” the court’s opinion said. “We defer, as we are constitutionally obligated to do, to the legislature’s judgment, which is accountable to, and thus reflects, the mutable will of our citizens.”
“Today is a dark day for Arizona. Today’s deplorable decision from the Arizona Supreme Court sends Arizona back nearly 150 years,” Florez said on a call with reporters after the ruling came out. “This ruling will cause long lasting detrimental harms for our communities.”for the ballot initiative, and this week announced that they have more than enough to qualify, with months to go before the deadline.
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