Arizona AG: 1864 Abortion Ban Likely Won't Take Effect

A nearly total abortion ban won't likely take effect in Arizona now that the state's most recent legislative session has ended because of the timing of when a repeal that has been passed took place, according to Democrat state Attorney General Kris Mayes.

Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs in May signed a bill repealing the state's 1864 law that called for imprisoning doctors who perform abortions, after the state Supreme Court upheld the Civil War-era provisions a month earlier, The Arizona Republic reported Monday.

But Mayes said new laws typically don't take effect until 91 days after the state's legislative session ends, which was Saturday. This means that the repeal officially wouldn't take effect until Sept. 14, leaving questions about whether the ban would be enforced until the new law kicks in.

However, Mayes has said that enforcing the ban would be held up by court orders until at least Sept. 27, meaning the repeal would be in effect before then.

"Because the repeal will be effective before Sept. 27, that means the territorial ban will not take effect in Arizona, so long as current court orders remain in place," Mayes spokesperson Richie Taylor said in an email.

This means Arizonans can still obtain abortions and providers can't be prosecuted for providing them, Taylor said.

Alliance Defending Freedom, a Scottsdale, Arizona-based conservative legal group that defended the 1864 law, did not immediately return The Republic's requests for comment.

Arizona is already under strict abortion laws that allow the procedures to be performed up to 15 weeks of pregnancy and do not allow exceptions for rape or incest.

Before the current law took effect in September 2022, abortions had been legal in Arizona up to fetal vitality, when a baby has a significant chance of living outside the womb without the need for extraordinary measures. Viability is usually at about 23 to 24 weeks of pregnancy.

However, there is a constitutional amendment expected to be included on November's ballot that would create a "fundamental right" to an abortion at any time before the viability limitations.

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