Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs (D) signed a bill repealing the state’s 1864 abortion ban.
Five state Republicans, three in the House and two in the Senate, voted with Democrats.
“Today, we are doing what 23 governors and 55 legislatures refused to do, and I am so proud to be the ones that got the job done,” Hobbs said in a press release. “Today, we should not rest, but we should recommit to protecting women’s bodily autonomy, their ability to make their own healthcare decisions, and the ability to control their lives. Let me be clear: I will do everything in my power to protect our reproductive freedoms, because I trust women to make the decisions that are best for them, and know politicians do not belong in the doctor’s office.”
The bill will temporarily go into effect until 90 days after the state legislature ends its session.
In April, the Arizona Supreme Court upheld the 160-year-old abortion ban, reversing an appeals court ruling.
Under the 1864 law, anyone aiding in an abortion will receive a minimum 2-year prison sentence.
The law reads, “A person who provides, supplies or administers to a pregnant woman, or procures such woman to take any medicine, drugs or substance, or uses or employs any instrument or other means whatever, with intent thereby to procure the miscarriage of such woman, unless it is necessary to save her life, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than two years nor more than five years.”
