The Grand Canyon state is getting mixed reviews after the state's supreme court decided Tuesday to uphold a 1864 law banning abortion in almost all cases.
The state’s highest court overturned a December 2022 injunction by an appeals court who thought that doctors shouldn’t be prosecuted after conducting abortions. With the new ruling, it will be illegal to perform abortions at any point in pregnancy except when absolutely necessary to save the life of the mother in the state of Arizona.
The court voted 4-2 in favor of the law and it’s set to go into effect in 14-days.
We conclude that [Arizona’s law] does not create a right to, or otherwise provide independent statutory authority for, an abortion that repeals or restricts [the law], but rather is predicated entirely on the existence of a federal constitutional right to an abortion since disclaimed by Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Absent the federal constitutional abortion right, and because [the law] does not independently authorize abortion, there is no provision in federal or state law prohibiting [the law’s] operation. Accordingly, [Arizona’s law] is now enforceable.
Immediately after the ruling dropped, responses flooded in.
Governor Katie Hobbs (D-AZ.) called it a “dark day for Arizona” and likened the move to a “near total Civil War-era ban that continues to hang over our heads.” She insisted that she was “devastated” by the decision.
President Joe Biden said the ruling was “cruel” and part of an “extreme agenda.” Yeah sir, the “extreme agenda” is the one that wants to save babies … sureeee. Biden also posted a graphic of former President Donald Trump pointing his finger with the headline of the news about Arizona’s ban. Biden’s caption read: “Trump did this.”
“Vice President Harris and I stand with the vast majority of Americans who support a woman’s right to choose. We will continue to fight to protect reproductive rights and call on Congress to pass a law restoring the protections of Roe v. Wade for women in every state,” Biden wrote in his official White House statement.
The American Civil Liberties Union claimed that the ruling “will cause devastation” and that it has no exceptions for “health.” Unsure what the pro-abort group meant by that, considering abortion is the opposite of health.
Similarly, Senator and Pocahontas wannabe, Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said the law was “extremist.”
Even “conservative” Kari Lake said she opposed the ruling and said she’d fight against a federal ban on abortion.
On the other hand, pro-life individuals and groups praised the move that will save countless babies from death in the womb.
Life News said that the ruling was a “huge pro-life victory” and will help “protect babies from abortions.”
A Policy Analyst for the Human Coalition wrote that “This is a monumental win for babies in the state.”
The Liberty Counsel wrote that “The Arizona Supreme Court sided with the right to life, banning the killing of babies and deeming abortion (except to save the mother’s life) illegal.
This is a WIN for LIFE and will save countless preborn lives” and Student’s For Life president Kristan Hawkins wrote that this was a “VICTORY.”
While the state supreme court issued this monumental decision, there’s a chance it could be overturned by state legislators and/or the decision could be overturned depending on November election results.
