Both chambers of the Arizona Legislature were sharply divided Wednesday over whether to repeal the state's 1864 law banning abortion, ending a chaotic day in which lawmakers and activists battled over the fate of the Civil War-era ban. .
Just hours after Republicans in the state House blocked a new effort to repeal the ban, which was upheld by a state Supreme Court ruling last week, a handful of Republicans in the state Senate sided with Democrats. , approved the submission of a bill to repeal the ban.
It will be at least a week before the Senate votes on the bill, but the issue could become a hot button unless House Democrats find a way to pass it.
Despite pressure from prominent Republicans, including former President Donald J. Trump, to repeal the ban, which many voters deemed extreme and outdated, House Republican leadership shows no signs of relenting. do not have.
“The last thing we need to do today is rush to consider a bill that repeals a law that has been enacted and reaffirmed many times in Congress,” Republican House Speaker Ben Thoma said while blocking the attempted vote. That's true.'' About abolition.
In an interview after the Senate passed the repeal bill, Toma refused to bow to outside pressure to change his mind, even from the highest echelons of his party. He said he did not see a clear future for the bill even if it were introduced in the House of Commons, and suggested he would work to prevent it from being voted on.
“At the end of the day, I don't see how that's different from the current situation,” he said. “I will be consistent. No bill will move in this chamber unless a speaker assigns it.”
Republicans narrowly control both chambers of the Arizona Legislature, but they foresee a significant political threat from supporting legislation widely seen as out of touch with voters. Last week's court ruling upholding the ban enraged abortion rights supporters, elated abortion opponents and sparked a political firestorm in Arizona.
Repealing the law, which allows for exceptions only to save a mother's life and says doctors charged under the law could face fines and two to five years in prison, would lead to Arizona The state would revert to its 15-week abortion ban. The 1864 law has been dormant for decades, but an overturn in Roe v. Wade two years ago set the stage for the state Supreme Court to issue a decision last week to reinstate the law.
Republicans initially resisted Democratic attempts to repeal the law last week. But Mr. Trump and his Senate candidate and ally, Kali Lake, argued the court overreached and called on Congress to act quickly. Facing a fierce competition in November, Lake took it upon himself to call his constituents and ask them how he could help with repeal efforts.
On Wednesday, it appeared as if their coddling had some effect. Democrats have signaled they are optimistic they will have a majority in the House and enough Republican support to send the repeal bill to the Senate.
But when one Democratic lawmaker stepped up to introduce a bill to repeal the ban, Republicans succeeded in blocking a vote on procedural grounds.
“The fact that they won't even introduce a motion to allow abortion for people who have been raped or conceived through incest is extremely disappointing,” said Democratic state Rep. Alma Hernandez.
After a while, the Speaker ordered the House to adjourn.
“I was pleasantly surprised that there was no vote in the House today,” said Kaci Herrod, president of the Arizona Policy Center, a conservative anti-abortion group.
On Wednesday afternoon, on the other side of the Capitol in the Senate, three Republican senators broke with other members of their party to prevent the session from adjourning. Two of them, TJ Schopf and Shona Bolick, voted to allow the repeal to be introduced.
In the House of Commons, this dynamic reflected the broader dynamic at the heart of the abortion debate. Anti-abortion activists, many of whom are conservative Christians, are powerful in many Republican-controlled state legislatures and have far greater influence than abortion rights supporters, who align with more voters on the issue. is giving.
Before the session began Wednesday morning, the House gallery filled early, primarily with anti-abortion supporters who had come early at the direction of activist groups opposed to repeal efforts.
At one point, most of the attendees on the balcony stood and extended their hands toward the House floor in prayer. “Deliver us from evil, for yours is the kingdom and the power,” they loudly proclaimed.
Karyn Royster, an Arizona Republican precinct committee member, said she believes life begins at conception. “I am here to represent Jesus Christ before I represent the people of the province,” she said. “You don't have to be picture perfect to get pregnant.”
Most of the abortion rights supporters were forced into the overflow seats, as the seats were already filled. Rolande Baker, 72, left Tucson at 6:30 a.m. with three of her fellow abortion-rights supporters to ensure they had a seat for her. She recalled having an abortion at age 19 and having to drive from Indiana to New York with her boyfriend, where her abortion procedure was not yet legal.
She was furious after Republicans succeeded in blocking the vote.
“Why aren't these cowards allowed to vote on the floor?” Baker asked. “What are they afraid that this might just pass? Arizona could get him out of 1864? Before the Civil War? Before women were given the right to vote? ”
In the audience after the vote, Melinda Ayer, 49, of Phoenix, was furious at the use of procedures to block repeal votes. “It is an extreme affront to democracy to emphasize rules and etiquette when women fundamentally have no control over their own bodies,” she said.
Democratic attempts to immediately repeal the ban also failed last week. House Republicans had sided with Democrats and introduced legislation to repeal the bill, but the Republican leadership adjourned.
This week, as a second repeal attempt looms, both parties scrambled to count votes and develop legislative strategies. Activists and lobbyists maneuvered behind the scenes to sway or lock down the few Republican lawmakers who could decide the law's fate.
Democrats gained a new House member on Tuesday, with Jenelle Cabello appointed to fill the vacancy left by a Democrat who resigned in April. She arrived in time for the repeal fight in the chamber. Taking her vote into account, Republicans controlled the House 31-29.
Lake, who praised a near-total ban two years ago when he was running for governor, called lawmakers last week to urge them to return to the 15-week ban that was in place in Arizona. . Two House members facing re-election races were quick to criticize the Arizona Supreme Court's ruling, and several Republicans also indicated they might side with Democrats in repealing the law.
The shift in Republican attitude reflects how politically the abortion issue has become for Republicans, even in traditionally conservative states, since the Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade and abolished the constitutional right to abortion. reflects whether it is having a negative impact on
It also highlighted the divide within the Republican Party over abortion policy. Anti-abortion groups and conservative groups urged Republicans to keep the law in place.
“This plan is being passed through a vote without any public input. This is not an acceptable way to govern,” said Melissa Hamilton, president of the grassroots conservative group EZAZ. They called for punishing lawmakers who voted for early passage of the bill. “It's just a political stunt.”
Even if the ban remains on the books, voters will likely have a chance to repeal it this fall. Abortion rights advocates are gathering signatures for a ballot measure that would enshrine the right to abortion up to “fetal viability” in the state constitution.
jack healy Contributed to the report.