Arizona’s Supreme Court has brought an 160 year old law back to life after making abortion illegal in most circumstances across the state. The law, created in 1864 means that performing an abortion is punishable by two to five years in prison, except when the mother’s life is at risk. It considers it illegal from the moment of conception, and does not allow for leniency in the cases of rape or incest.
It is from the same set of laws that also set the age of consent to ten years old, however only the abortion ban has been restored thankfully, but also, would you be surprised?
The legal decision was made by six justices in a 4-2 decision, all of whom have been nominated by Republican governors. The revision has been allowed to happen following America’s overturn of Roe v Wade in 2022 which established a nationwide right to abortion. Now, individual states can implement their own laws on the matter.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision, the law is put on hold for 14 days whilst it is sent back to a lower court to hear of any additional arguments about its constitutionality. After that, there is a 45 day hold period before enforcement is allowed, so at this current time, abortion up to 15 weeks is still legal in Arizona.
However, questions have been raised about how the law will be enforced, and Democrat Attorney General of Arizona, Kris Mayes, has publicly announced that she will not prosecute Arizonans for performing or abstaining abortions, calling the law “draconian” and “an affront to freedom”.
Who knows what else these time-traveling justices of the court can change about the course of history? Will Abraham Lincoln make a reappearance, and if so, what will he think of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter? Watch this space.