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The Arizona Supreme Court, whose justices are all Republican appointees, upheld an 1864 law that bans all abortions from the moment of conception, except those necessary to save a woman’s life... and good luck trying to legally establish that a woman's life is in jeopardy before she, well, actually dies.

The decision from the Arizona Supreme Court concerned a law that was on the books long before Arizona achieved statehood. It outlaws abortion from the moment of conception, except when necessary to save the life of the mother, and it makes no exceptions for rape or incest. Doctors prosecuted under the law could face fines and prison terms of two to five years.

The Arizona republican legislature packed the state supreme court back in 2016, expanding it from five to seven justices.

Governor Doug Ducey said at the time, the expansion would assure "swift justice."

Today, Ducey said, essentially, "Oh, sh!t. Unless the state legislature fixes this, we are so screwed."

Or words to that effect.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/09/us/arizona-abor...

They just ruled that the law was still valid. I think the question was the validity of a law that was prior to statehood (1912). They gave an answer to that question.

Now there is going to be a lot of pressure (from both sides of the argument) on the legislature. Many of the legislature here are arch-conservatives who won't want to change it, but abortion rights does enjoy a slight majority in AZ. Not as large as I would like, or the national average, but a majority. I would expect some legislation loosening that law to be enacted relatively quickly.

Apparently, anti-abortion laws are very unpopular, even in red states. My morning news summary went into some detail. New ads are appearing telling the tales of women victimized by anti-abortion laws (e.g. a woman in TX had a miscarriage, and the hospital refused to treat), with the subtitle "Donald Trump did this".

Apparently, Biden is trusted far more to handle abortion than Trump in national polls. Trump is fleeing supporting a federal ban (which is a smart move on his part...even a broken clock...). Though the Dems should not assume this is a slam-dunk issue. Americans are concerned about more than just that, and the Dems need to run on those other issues, also. Biden will have an easier time since he's incumbent. But anyone trying to oust a Rep governor or legislator has to bring more to the table than just abortion.

Makes sense. I don't think most voters are single-issue voters. Some certainly are, but not most.

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