亚利桑那州共和党人周三再次阻止了民主党领导的废除一项备受争议的19世纪对该州几乎所有堕胎的禁令亚利桑那州最高法院已裁定该法案具有强制执行力。
州众议院的民主党人未能克服程序障碍，推动民主党州众议员斯蒂芬妮·斯塔尔·汉密尔顿(Stephanie Stahl Hamilton)提出的众议院第2677号法案，该法案旨在废除1864年的堕胎法，该法早于亚利桑那州的州地位，仅提供例外情况以挽救孕妇的生命。
只有一名共和党众议员加入了民主党少数派的行列，使他们离推动该法案还差一票。
“我们今天最不应该做的事情就是在立法程序中匆忙通过一项法案，以废除一项已经由立法机构颁布并多次重申的法律，”共和党议长本·托马在周三的州议会会议上说。
托马说:“堕胎是一个复杂的话题——它在伦理上和道德上都很复杂。”“我知道我们有着坚定的信念。“
在托马之后发言的助理少数党领袖奥斯卡·德洛斯·桑托斯说:“这个问题非常简单:我们是支持还是反对1864年的领土堕胎禁令，该禁令不包括强奸例外和乱伦例外。”
他继续说道:“我们听到发言人提到我们不应该匆忙推进这一进程。议员们，自1864年以来，我们一直在废除这项令人憎恶的法律，”
经过一周的休会后，亚利桑那州议员周三再次召开会议，主要关注废除法案及其是否会继续推进。
目前还不清楚民主党人下一步将如何试图撤销严格的禁令，不过州参议院的议员们表示，他们计划迅速采取行动，在周三晚些时候在他们的众议院进行此类努力。
亚利桑那州最高法院立即恢复1864年禁令的裁决搅乱了关键摇摆州的政治-受到堕胎反对者的庆祝，并受到堕胎权利倡导者和民主党人的谴责，而包括唐纳德·特朗普在内的共和党高层表示，这太过分了。
禁令暂时搁置，但亚利桑那州总检察长克里斯·梅斯本周表示，禁令最早可能于6月8日生效——“没有任何额外的诉讼”或立法行动。
任何违反该法案的人都将面临两到五年的监禁。梅斯此前表示，她不会根据该法起诉供应商。
反堕胎组织亚利桑那州生命权周三计划在州议会大厦外举行集会，支持1864年的禁令。
亚利桑那州堕胎权利联盟也将在州议会大厦外举行集会。
如果亚利桑那州的立法者试图再次废除该法案，它将如何运作?
汉密尔顿的废除法案在周三未能推进，但已在亚利桑那州众议院通过了两次阅读，为再次进行地板投票做好了准备-再走一步。
由于该条例草案尚未在委员会中进行聆讯，议员须提出动议，豁免审议该条例草案的正常程序。
周三，州众议院多数党中几乎所有共和党人都反对这项豁免动议。但如果成功的话，废除禁令可能会提交众议院全院表决，并需要31票才能通过-在60名议员中获得简单多数。
由于亚利桑那州众议院有29名民主党议员，该法案只需获得两名共和党议员的投票即可成功。值得关注的共和党成员是众议员马特·格雷斯、戴维·库克和蒂姆·邓恩。
亚利桑那州众议院议长托马上周表示，议员们不会“在没有更大规模讨论的情况下就这一重大议题仓促立法”，共和党议员也表示推翻了早先由民主党领导的努力迅速废除禁令。
托马上周表示:“作为一个民选机构，我们将花必要的时间听取选民的意见，并仔细考虑适当的行动。”
亚利桑那州政策中心在立法机构领导了反对堕胎权的斗争，并成功游说了无数限制措施，该中心呼吁共和党立法者不要废除1864年的禁令。
然而，如果亚利桑那州众议院对该法案投赞成票，在禁令正式废除之前还有更多步骤和程序。
该提案在州众议院通过后，将提交州参议院进行另一次投票，以免除该法案的规则。
两名共和党人也需要加入民主党人在州参议院的行列，参议员肖恩纳·博利克和T.J .肖普已经表示他们将支持废除该法案。
鉴于该立法尚未在州参议院通过，可能还需要进一步的程序步骤。这包括一项要求在三个不同的日子里听取法案的规定，因此可能需要至少三天的时间。
为了立即废除1864年的禁令，立法者必须在其语言中包括一个紧急条款，但必须获得三分之二的多数票才能通过。否则，立法机关批准并由总督签署的任何文件要到立法会议结束后90天才生效。
民主党州长凯蒂·霍布斯反对这项禁令。
她周二在X上写道:“1864年由27名男子通过的一项法律是我22岁的女儿现在拥有的权利比我在她这个年龄时少的原因。”“这简直令人发指。我致力于确保后代拥有他们应得的基本自由。”
她重申，她在2023年签署的一项行政命令禁止县检察官凌驾于亚利桑那州司法部长梅耶斯之上。梅耶斯表示，她的办公室仍在分析法律选择，并继续制定计划，以应对诉讼失败的情况，包括亚利桑那州如何支持堕胎服务提供商。
可能引发争议的堕胎投票措施
亚利桑那州堕胎权利运动正在努力争取在11月的州投票中通过一项潜在的宪法修正案，将堕胎权利纳入其中。该运动表示，他们已经收集了超过50万个签名——超过了必要的门槛。
提议的修正案将修改亚利桑那州的宪法，禁止该州在胎儿存活(怀孕24周左右)之前立法禁止堕胎;它还将其他堕胎保护措施写入法律。
根据周一泄露并与ABC新闻分享的一份演示文稿，亚利桑那州共和党领导的众议院法律顾问在内部提出了一项计划，在他们所谓的堕胎政策“法庭混乱”之后，通过增加自己的投票倡议来对抗该州的堕胎权利投票倡议。
该提案包括可能提交立法的投票倡议，这些倡议将与亚利桑那州的堕胎措施竞争-要么恢复1864年裁决前生效的15周禁令，要么提供6周禁令，但强奸、乱伦、胎儿畸形和挽救“妇女”生命的情况除外。
Arizona Republicans block another Democratic effort to repeal 1864 abortion ban
Arizona Republicans on Wednesday again blocked a Democratic-led effort to repeal acontroversial 19th-century ban on almost all abortions in the state, which the Arizona Supreme Court has ruled is enforceable.
Democrats in the state House failed to overcome procedural obstacles to advance House Bill 2677, introduced by Democratic state Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton, to repeal the 1864 abortion law, which predates Arizona's statehood and only provides exceptions to save the life of the pregnant woman.
Only one of the Republican representatives joined with the Democratic minority, leaving them one vote short of pushing the bill forward.
"The last thing we should be doing today is rushing a bill through the legislative process to repeal a law that has been enacted and reaffirmed by the Legislature several times," Speaker Ben Toma, a Republican, said during Wednesday's state House session.
"Abortion is a complicated topic -- it is ethically, morally complex," said Toma. "I understand that we have deeply held beliefs."
Assistant Minority Leader Oscar De Los Santos, speaking after Toma, said, "This issue is very simple: Do we support or do we oppose an 1864 territorial abortion ban that includes no exceptions for rape, no exceptions for incest?"
He continued: "We heard the speaker mention that we shouldn't be rushing this process. Members, we have had since 1864 to repeal this abhorrent law,"
Arizona lawmakers had reconvened on Wednesday after a week's recess, with much attention was on the repeal bill and whether it would move forward.
It's unclear how Democrats will next attempt to roll back the strict ban, though members in the state Senate have said they plan to act quickly to take up such efforts in their chamber later Wednesday.
The Arizona Supreme Court's ruling reviving the 1864 ban immediatelyroiled the politics of the key swing state-- being celebrated by abortion opponents and denounced by abortion access advocates and Democrats, while top Republicans, including Donald Trump, said it went too far.
The ban remains temporarily on hold but Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said this week that the earliest it could take effect is June 8 -- "absent any additional litigation" or legislative action.
Anyone found guilty of violating it will face two to five years in state prison. Mayes previously said she would not prosecute providers under the law.
Arizona Right to Life, an anti-abortion group, on Wednesday planned to hold rally outside the state Capitol in support of the 1864 ban.
The Arizona for Abortion Access coalition was also set to hold a rally outside of the state Capitol.
If Arizona lawmakers attempt repeal again, how would it work?
Hamilton's repeal bill, which failed to advance on Wednesday, already passed two readings in the Arizona House, setting it up for another attempt at a floor vote -- after one more step.
A member will need bring up a motion to waive the normal procedures to consider the bill, since it has not yet been heard in a committee.
That waive motion was opposed by nearly all Republicans in the state House majority on Wednesday. But if it ever succeeds, the repeal ban could then go up for a full House vote and would need 31 votes to pass -- a simple majority of legislators in the 60-member chamber.
As there are 29 Democratic members in the Arizona House, the bill needs just two Republican votes to succeed. The GOP members to watch are Reps. Matt Gress, David Cook and Tim Dunn.
Toma, the Arizona House speaker, said last week that lawmakers will not "rush legislation on a topic of this magnitude without a larger discussion," and Republican lawmakersquashed an earlier, Democratic-led effortto quickly repeal the ban.
"We as an elected body are going to take the time needed to listen to our constituents and carefully consider appropriate actions," Toma said last week.
The Center for Arizona Policy, which has led the fight against abortion rights at the Legislature and successfully lobbied for myriad restrictions, has called on GOP lawmakers not to repeal the 1864 ban.
If the Arizona House votes yes on the bill, however, there are still more steps and procedures before the ban is formally repealed and off the books.
The proposal, after passing the state House, would then go to the state Senate for yet another vote to waive rules on the bill.
Two Republicans are needed to join Democrats in the state Senate as well, and Sens. Shawnna Bolick and T.J. Shope have said they'd support the repeal.
The legislation may have to go through further procedural steps given that it has not yet been read in the state Senate. That includes a rule requiring bills be heard on three separate days, so it will likely take at least three more days.
To repeal the 1864 ban immediately, lawmakers would have to include an emergency clause in their language but get a two-thirds majority vote for passage. Otherwise, anything approved by the Legislature and signed by the governor does not take effect until 90 days after the end of the legislative session.
Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, opposes the ban.
"A law passed in 1864 by 27 men is the reason why my 22-year-old daughter now has fewer rights than I did at her age," she wrote on X on Tuesday. "It's absolutely outrageous. I'm committed to ensuring that future generations have the essential freedoms they deserve."
She has reiterated that an executive order she signed in 2023 prohibits county attorneys from going above Mayes, the Arizona attorney general, who has said her office is still analyzing legal options and is continuing plans over what to do if litigation efforts are unsuccessful, including how Arizona can support abortion providers.
People protest after Arizona's Supreme Court revived a law dating to 1864 that bans abortion in virtual...Show more
Caitlin O'Hara/Reuters Potentially dueling ballot measures on abortion
The Arizona for Abortion Access campaign is working to get a potential constitutional amendment on the state's ballot in November enshrining abortion access. The campaign has said that they have gathered more than 500,000 signatures – surpassing the necessary threshold.
The proposed amendment would amend Arizona's Constitution to prohibit the state from legislating against abortion up until fetal viability, which is around 24 weeks into pregnancy; and it enshrines other abortion protections into law.
The Republican-led House counsel in Arizona has, separately, internally proposed a plan to rival the state's abortion rights ballot initiative by adding ballot initiatives of their own in the wake of what they call "court chaos" on abortion policy, according to a presentation leaked Monday and shared with ABC News.
That proposal includes potentially legislatively-referred ballot initiatives that would compete with the Arizona for Abortion Access measure -- to either return to a 15-week ban that had been in effect before the 1864 ruling or offer a six-week ban, with exceptions in both cases for rape, incest, fetal abnormalities and to save the life of "the woman" in the language presented.
