Arizona Senate votes to repeal 1864 abortion law, sending measure to governor’s desk

Arizona state senators successfully passed a measure to repeal the state’s near-total 1864 abortion ban following a heated and emotional voting session.

Two Republican state senators, Shawnna Bolick and T.J. Shope, joined Democrats in a 16-14 vote in favor of repealing the measure. The House passed an identical bill in the lower chamber last week, also with several Republican crossover votes.

The Civil War-era law was upheld by the state Supreme Court in April and came into effect due to a complicated sequence of legal events, supplanting a measure enacted in 2022 that would have precluded the procedure after 15 weeks of gestation.

The bill is slated to head to Gov. Katie Hobbs (D-AZ), who is expected to sign it into law expeditiously. 

Two female Republican senators shared their poignant miscarriage stories that each shaped their vote in different directions on the measure.