The state of Arizona in the United States will be enforcing a near-total ban on abortions after a judge ruled that the state was free to enforce the law following the US Supreme Court decision, which removed abortion as a protected right. The law sees a virtual ban on almost every instance of abortion and will punish those performing an abortion with imprisonment between two and five years.
Under the 1864 law, which predates the formation of the state itself, there are no exceptions for abortion in cases of rape, incest, foetal abnormalities, and even minor survivors of rape would not be allowed to undergo an abortion.
“This is a complete abortion ban, one that forces survivours of rape and incest to carry their pregnancies to term, and women with medical conditions could face dire health risks. Healthcare providers would face imprisonment of up to five years for fulfilling their duty of care,”
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White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said. Calling the ruling ‘dangerous’ and ‘backwards’, the White House added that President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris want the US Congress to act urgently and codify abortion rights to protect women’s bodily and reproductive rights.
The law had been under an injunction since 1973 when the Supreme Court delivered the monumental Roe vs Wade decision that protected access to abortion for women across the country. But, with the decision overturned earlier this year with a 5-4 majority verdict, states got the power to decide over their abortion laws once again. Red-leaning Arizona is also one of the states that passed another law that banned abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy as an escalator law that would immediately go into effect when abortion rights were restricted.
However, with Roe vs Wade completely overturned, there are now two laws preventing easy access to abortion in the state and it is unclear which one would take precedence, though state attorney general Mark Brnovich is batting for the near-complete ban to take precedence, reported the New York Times.
Women in Arizona, who now wish to have an abortion, would either need to travel to California, Nevada or Colorado, where abortion is protected or take their chances in New Mexico, where no such protective measures have been enacted. But, that option is a pipedream for many women who won’t have the financial or social backing to make such trips.
(Edited by : Sudarsanan Mani)
