It’s been hours since the news broke that the Arizona Supreme Court revived a 160 year old law to outlaw abortion in that state. This “zombie law” has long been dormant but the Dobbs decision has changed things. Actually, the zealots in Arizona had a law teed up, a so-called “trigger law” that would go into effect if SCOTUS at some point struck down Roe. There are differences between the 2022 law the legislature passed and that 1864 law and that’s what led to today’s ruling.
So, just what the HELL is going on? There’s a good write-up from NBC News that lays things out pretty well. (As I so often do I encourage you to read the entire linked article) It starts out by stating the now revived law is a near total abortion ban is, since it’s still on the books enforceable. Keep in mind that 1864 was decades before Arizona was even a state but NBC points out the law was codified in 1901 and again in 1913. And that it does contain an exception for the life of the mother. (The linked article doesn’t address is but pundits on TV have raised the issue of what defines a threat to the mother’s life that would allow an abortion) However, it also makes abortion a felony punishable by two to five years in prison for anyone who performs one or helps a woman obtain one.
Now there’s a mess that’s going to have to be cleaned up:
That Civil War-era law — enacted a half-century before Arizona even gained statehood — was never repealed and an appellate court ruled last year that it could remain on the books as long as it was “harmonized” with a 2022 law, leading to substantial confusion in Arizona regarding exactly when during a pregnancy abortion was outlawed.
In practical terms the ruling could close abortion clinics in the state. It effectively undoes a lower court’s ruling that stated that a more recent 15-week ban from March 2022 superseded the 1864 law. If there’s any sliver of good news it’s that the Arizona Supreme Court put their decision on hold for 14 days. They’ve remanded the case back to a lower court so that court could consider “additional constitutional challenges” that haven’t yet been cleared up. That I think will be enough time for new legal challenges to be brought and hopefully stave off the appalling, heartbreaking difficulties so many women will face if the old 1864 law becomes the ruling standard.
Arizona now has a Democratic AG and Kris Mayes says she will not enforce the law. No doubt the anti-abortion freaks will sue HER, and who knows? The GOP legislature there is radical enough to maybe try to impeach and remove her. I haven’t yet had a chance to read up on how all that might work in Arizona. Mayes can at least count on some heavy hitters to back her up. Vice President Kamala Harris is headed to the state Friday and I’m sure it will be worth watching what she has to say. (I’d assume at least some outlets will carry it live) President Biden has also wasted no time weighing in:
“Millions of Arizonans will soon live under an even more extreme and dangerous abortion ban, which fails to protect women even when their health is at risk or in tragic cases of rape or incest,” Biden said in a statement. He called the ban “cruel” and “a result of the extreme agenda of Republican elected officials who are committed to ripping away women’s freedom” and vowed to “continue to fight to protect reproductive rights.”
Needless to say the decision is making waves not just in Arizona but nationally. Eleven states will have some form of abortion rights measures on their ballots in November and Arizona was already expected to be one of them. I think it’s safe to say they will quickly meet the criteria to have an abortion rights measure on the ballot that will when passed undo this cruel ruling. AND that 2022 law as well. As it happens Arizona will be one of the key states that will determine who wins the vote that matters, the Electoral College this fall. Biden won by a razor thin margin in 2020. With this on the ballot both he and Democratic Senatorial candidate Rueben Gallego should get a significant boost. There’s no reason, none to think that Arizona (where old school Republicans are fed up with the crazies already) will buck the trend of every time abortion is on the ballot having voters vote FOR abortion rights by strong margins.
And while a lot of those old school Republicans who will for damned sure vote to pass an abortion rights measure might not be able to bring themselves to vote for a Democrat, they sure as hell won’t vote for Trump either. (or RFK Jr.) Even if they leave the Presidential race blank, and the Senate one too for that matter that’s good enough. The real question will be whether they will vote out some of the crazies in the Arizona legislature. That’s a different topic for a different time.
What matters is that once again a small group of anti-abortion zealots REFUSE to accept they are out of step with where a strong majority of Americans are on this issue. And they’ve most likely handed Arizona’s electoral votes and a Senate seat to over to Democrats. Again. Tragically, if in the meantime this ruling does go into effect a lot of women are going to suffer. Perhaps even die. And that my friends is why this will resonate nationally. There are many Republicans who would like nothing more than to go back to pre-Dobbs days. Back when they could fundraise like hell off the concept of “outlawing abortion” secure in their belief SCOTUS would never actually do what they did.
Even then many assumed after a couple of month the fury would die down. That voters (not just women) would “get over it” but that’s clearly not been the case. AND every time they think maybe, just maybe the worst might be over something like this happens. Yep. This is going to be big come November. Stay tuned.
This may sound off base but it’s related, as it speaks to the sickness in our culture. When the law locks up 700,000 citizens each YEAR, criminalizing them over an unjustified cannabis scheduling in 1970, by a true criminal, Nixon, for political reasons, AND IT HAS STOOD SINCE, then we, as a voting public, HAVE NO STANDARDS Of DECENCY, or regard for personal rights. The institutional hypocrisy allows for all kinds of abuse including this abomination. FACT. Enjoy America. It’s on you.
When I moved here to Canada in 23016, iot was for family issues, no drumph, but the timing was good. A year later the govt legalized mj. Has anybody noticed what a tremendously detrimental effect it has had on my new country? You guys down there with your mj and abortion BS are truly back in 1864. I really hope you vote out all republicons, down to dog catcher level. They are scum. All of them.
After checking the actual decision itself (1 justice recused, 2 dissented from the ruling–interestingly enough, those 2 were the Chief Justice and Vice Chief Justice; it *looks* like they preferred the 2022 law rather than the pre-statehood relic but I’m not wading through FORTY-SEVEN pages of legalese to confirm) and the law about how AZ’s Supreme Court is chosen, two of the people upholding the ancient law are actually up for election this year (I haven’t checked more fully as the state has a mandatory retirement for judges at 70 and one of the two whose term ends this year will have to retire in 2027).
Yes here in Arizona we already have more than enough signatures for the issue to be on the ballot. But they’re still getting more signatures and so they won’t submit the petition until July to be certain it will qualify for the November ballot. There’s no doubt that it will overwhelming pass. Also Reuben Gallego will be running against Crazy Kari Lake for the Senate seat of Kristen Sinema. Lake has pissed off the McCain family and fans so she’s already lost . I’ve never been a McCain fan but I do have respect for his military service and his historical vote for Obama Care.
Can we have covered wagons too?
Ahhhh. I love the sound of ‘pube screams after their decades long fight to make women chattel again bites them in the ass.