Arizona house votes to repeal state’s near-total ban on abortion

Lawmakers in the Arizona house have voted to repeal a controversial 1864 law banning nearly all abortions, amid mounting pressure on the state’s Republicans.

Three Republicans joined with all 29 Democrats on Wednesday to support the repeal of the law, which predates Arizona’s statehood and provides no exceptions for rape or incest.

The move follows weeks of effort by Democrats in the state legislature to undo the law, while the issue increasingly put Republicans on the defensive in a key battleground state.

The measure will now head to the state senate, where it is expected to pass, and then to the governor’s desk.

The Arizona supreme court earlier this month concluded the state could enforce a long-dormant law that permits abortions only to save the pregnant patient’s life. The ruling suggested doctors could be prosecuted under the law, first approved in 1864, and that anyone who assists in an abortion could face two to five years in prison.

The ruling put enormous pressure on Republicans in the state, who are under fire from some conservatives in their base who firmly support the abortion ban, and from swing voters who strongly oppose the measure and will decide crucial races including the presidency, the US Senate and the GOP’s control of the legislature.

Some prominent Republicans, including the GOP candidate for Senate, Kari Lake, have come out against the ban. But Republicans in the statehouse repeatedly blocked efforts by Democratic lawmakers to repeal the law.

A week ago, one Republican in the Arizona house joined 29 Democrats to bring the repeal measure to a vote, but the effort failed twice on 30-30 votes.

The office of the Arizona attorney general, Kris Mayes, on Tuesday had asked the state supreme court to reconsider