(CNN) — In a historic decision Tuesday, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled the state must adhere to a 123-year-old law barring all abortions except in cases when “it is necessary to save” a pregnant person’s life.
The law, which can be traced to as early as 1864 and was codified in 1901, also carried a prison sentence of two to five years for abortion providers. There is a 14-day stay on the law.
Arizona’s near-total abortion ban will be one of the strictest in the nation, placing it alongside Texas, Alabama and Mississippi, where there are abortion bans in place with almost no exceptions.
In its decision, the court said, “Physicians are now on notice that all abortions, except those necessary to save a woman’s life, are illegal,” adding criminal sanctions may now apply for abortions performed after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Arizona’s Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs blasted the decision, noting people in Arizona were living under unacceptable restrictions on abortion prior to the decision.
“Let me be clear. Arizona’s 2022 abortion ban is extreme and hurts women, and the near total Civil War era ban that continues to hang over our heads, only serves to create more chaos for women, and doctors in our state,” Hobbs told reporters shortly after the decision was released Tuesday.
“Millions of Arizonans will soon live under an even more extreme and dangerous abortion ban, which fails to protect women even when their health is at risk or in tragic cases of rape or incest,” President Joe Biden said Tuesday in a statement.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said in a statement that her office won’t be enforcing the law, writing, “Let me be completely clear, as long as I am Attorney General, no woman or doctor will be prosecuted under this draconian law in this state.”
The case is the latest high-profile example of the battle over abortion access that has played out across several states since Roe v. Wade was overturned by the US Supreme Court in 2022. Since that decision, nearly two dozen states have banned or limited access to the procedure. Providers have warned that restrictive policies on abortion access place patients at risk of poor health outcomes and doctors at risk of legal liability.
“A couple of weeks ago, I had an abortion – a safe, legal abortion here in Arizona for a pregnancy I very much wanted, a pregnancy that failed,” Arizona Sen. Eva Burch said Tuesday at a news conference. “Somebody took care of me. Somebody gave me a procedure so that I wouldn’t have to experience another miscarriage – the pain, the mess, the discomfort. And now we’re talking about whether or not we should put that doctor in jail.”
Reproductive rights advocates have condemned the ruling and pledged to fight for abortion rights.
“This ruling will cause long-lasting, detrimental harms for our communities. It strips Arizonans of their bodily autonomy and bans abortion in nearly all scenarios,” Planned Parenthood Arizona said in a statement.
In a notice Monday, the Arizona court indicated it will file an opinion in Planned Parenthood of Arizona vs. Mayes/Hazelrigg at approximately 10 a.m. PT Tuesday.
Justices heard opening arguments in the case last December, when abortion rights opponents claimed the state should revert to the 1901 ban, and advocates asked the court to affirm the 2022 law allowing abortions up to 15 weeks, CNN previously reported.
When he signed the law in March 2022, then-Gov. Doug Ducey stated the 2022 law would not override the older law.
In late 2022, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled both abortion laws in the state must be reconciled, or “harmonized,” and that abortion is legal through 15 weeks when provided by licensed physicians in compliance with the state’s other laws and regulations, CNN previously reported.
The state Supreme Court was asked for clarity following months of uncertainty and legal wrangling over which law should apply in the state.
Last week, Arizona for Abortion Access, a group of abortion rights organizations, announced it had gathered enough signatures for a November 2024 ballot measure that would ask voters to enshrine abortion rights in the state’s constitution.
The push is part of a massive effort to get abortion on the 2024 ballot in several states, a move abortion rights advocates are hopeful will restore some power to voters rather than state courts.
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