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- Arizona's Supreme Court has reinstated a near-total abortion ban from 1864.
- The ruling effectively bans abortion, except if the pregnant person's life is in danger.
- The decision could influence the 2024 Senate races, as abortion rights is likely to be a key issue.
Arizona's Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that a near-total abortion ban from 1864 could be enforced.
The ruling makes Arizona the latest state to effectively ban the procedure. The law makes providing an abortion or helping someone get an abortion a felony punishable by two to five years in prison.
The 160-year-old ban was passed nearly 50 years before Arizona became a state.
Abortions through 15 weeks of pregnancy have been allowed in the state since a lower court ruled in 2022 that a 15-week ban could override the 1864 law. But in reviewing that decision, the high court said the 1864 law should stand.
The law does not make exceptions for cases of rape or incest but allows for exceptions in cases where the pregnant person's life is in danger.
The court wrote in its 4-2 decision that the 2022 law was based entirely on the federal constitutional right to an abortion under Roe v. Wade and that now, without that right, "there is no provision in federal or state law prohibiting" the 1864 law's operation.
While the law is now enforceable, the court put the ruling on hold for 14 days while a lower court considers aspects of its constitutionality.
The high court's decision is likely to place abortion rights front and center for the 2024 election, where a Senate race in Arizona could tip the balance of power in the chamber.
The ruling came a week after Florida's Supreme Court agreed to let a six-week abortion ban begin in the state. On the same day, Florida's high court also allowed an amendment that would enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution to appear on the November ballot.
Arizona voters may get the same opportunity this November. Arizona for Abortion Access told NBC News that it had collected enough petition signatures required to qualify its abortion measure for the ballot this year.
Planned Parenthood Action posted on X, formerly Twitter, that Arizona residents could still get an abortion in the state until the ban goes into effect.