Taken from UNIVISIÓN
Arizona lawmakers voted Wednesday to repeal a ban on nearly all abortions, scheduled to take effect in June following a controversial decision by the state Supreme Court to revive a draconian Civil War-era law. The measure now heads to the state Senate.
Wednesday’s vote comes after weeks of mounting pressure on Republicans in a battleground state during a presidential election year.
The close vote of 32 to 29 was possible thanks to the fact that three Republicans joined the 29 Democrats this Wednesday to repeal a law prior to the creation of the state of Arizona and that does not contemplate exceptions for rape or incest.
House Speaker Mike Johnson has refused to allow a vote on repeal since the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that the state can enforce a law that only allows abortion to save the life of the pregnant patient.
Divided opinions on abortion in the US
Dozens of people gathered outside the state Capitol on Wednesday before the House and Senate convened, many of them holding signs or T-shirts showing their opposition to abortion rights.
However, at the national level many oppose the application of a law that had been blocked since the Roe vs. Wade, ruled in 1973 by the US Supreme Court, guaranteed the constitutional right to abortion throughout the country.
After the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022, Arizona’s then-Attorney General, Republican Mark Brnovich, convinced a state judge that the 1864 ban could be enforced.
Mayes had said the earliest the law could be enforced is June 8, although the anti-abortion group defending the ban, Alliance Defending Freedom, maintains county prosecutors can begin enforcing it once the Supreme Court’s decision be definitive, which is expected to happen this week.
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