Arizona Republicans Reject Another Effort To Repeal Law Protecting Unborn Babies From Nearly All Abortions

Arizona House Republicans have once again rejected an attempt to fast-track a bill that would repeal a 160-year-old abortion ban that the state’s Supreme Court allowed to go into effect.

On Wednesday, Republican leaders in the state House rejected a motion by Democrat Stephanie Stahl Hamilton, which called for a procedural vote on fast-tracking her bill that would repeal the 1864 abortion ban, but the GOP leaders allowed for a vote on if their move to block the vote was correct, AZ Central reported. Republicans, who hold a one-seat majority in the Arizona House, lost one fellow party member on the vote, leading to a 30-30 split. The tie was broken by a vote from the chair against moving forward with the abortion ban repeal.

“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 affirmed by the legislature several times,” House Speaker Ben Toma said, according to CNN.

Republicans’ rejection of the fast-tracked repeal attempt marks the second time the House has stopped an effort to kill the law since the 1864 abortion ban was greenlit by the state’s Supreme Court last week. Last Wednesday, a motion by Republican state Rep. Matt Gress was stopped by a GOP motion to recess, sparking an outcry from Democrats.

After the House voted in favor of recess over moving forward with a repeal of the abortion law, some Democratic state lawmakers began shouting “Shame!” on the House floor.

At least two Arizona Republican lawmakers — Reps. Matt Gress and David Cook — have indicated that they support a repeal of the abortion law, according to AZ Central. Gress voted with Democrats on Wednesday’s procedural vote, and Cook told CNN last week that “this territorial law needs to be repealed.” Cook, however, voted with Republicans on Wednesday to reject fast-tracking a repeal bill.

The Arizona Supreme Court’s decision has caused division among Republicans, many of whom are attempting to navigate the hot-button issue while they run a campaign. Arizona Republicans running in tight 2024 races, such as Senate candidate Kari Lake and Rep. David Schweikert, have released statements saying they oppose the 1864 abortion law.

Former President Donald Trump also called on Arizona Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs and the state legislature “to remedy what has happened” and “act as fast as possible,” adding that the Arizona Supreme Court “went too far on their Abortion Ruling, enacting and approving an inappropriate Law from 1864.”

Pro-life groups such as LiveAction and Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, however, celebrated the state high court’s decision and the law’s protection of unborn children.