Arizona House repeals older protection for unborn babies

The Arizona state House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to no longer protect unborn babies using an 1864 law. After several votes, a few Republicans crossed the aisle to help pass the legislation, 32-28, according to the Statehouse’s website. Republican state Reps. Tim Dunn of Yuma, Justin Wilmeth of Phoenix, and Matt Gress of Phoenix joined the Democrats in the vote. Arizona state House Speaker Ben Toma, R-Phoenix, was deeply disappointed by the vote. In a statement, House Democrats celebrated the vote as a win.

What happens now? The bill will proceed to the Arizona state Senate. If not repealed, the law would take effect later this summer. In addition to the 1864 law that prohibits aborting unborn children in almost all cases where the mother’s life is not at stake, Arizona has a more recent law that protects unborn babies after 15 weeks.

Why is this happening? The Arizona Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that the state could enforce the older law, which protects almost all unborn babies from abortion. Arizona Republican U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake criticized the Court’s decision, as did Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat.

Dig deeper: Read Mary Jackson and Christina Grube’s report in WORLD Magazine about the fallout of the decision among Republicans in the state and beyond.