Mayes wins extended delay of Civil War-era abortion law ruling to mull appeal to U.S. Supreme Court
Source: Arizona Mirror
By: Gloria Rebecca Gomez - August 1, 2024
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has further delayed the Arizona Supreme Courts decision to revive a near-total abortion ban from 1864 and shes still eyeing an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Since the Arizona Supreme Courts bombshell ruling that the Civil War-era law could once again be enforced earlier this year, the law was repealed by the state legislature. While reproductive rights proponents celebrated the move at the time, they also worried that the legislatures action would simply delay the bans reinstatement, because laws dont become effective until 90 days after the legislative session ends. But that fear was laid to rest after the lawmakers ended their work in June, which means the repeal will become official on Sept. 14.
A 90-day delay of the courts ruling Mayes won shortly after the repeal effort succeeded, coupled with a month-long freeze that had been previously agreed to in a related case over the draconian law, pushed its reinstatement until virtually the last week of September, ensuring that the near-total ban from 1864 will never see the light of day.
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In the meantime, reproductive rights advocates are looking to the November election to insulate abortion access from any future hostility in the courts or the legislature. The Arizona Abortion Access Act, which is likely to land on the ballot after turning in more than double the required number of signatures to qualify, would enshrine abortion as a fundamental right in the state Constitution.
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