PHOENIX (LifeSiteNews) — Arizona Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs signed into law on Thursday a formal repeal of the state’s near-total abortion ban, undoing one of the strongest preborn protections in the country with the help of a handful of Republicans.
Last month, the Arizona’s Supreme Court ruled 4-2 that the law, which dates back to before Arizona gained statehood in 1912 and was codified in 1913, was legally enforceable after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, rejecting claims that Arizona’s more recent 15-week abortion ban was intended to invalidate it.
The decision meant that abortion was set to become illegal in the Grand Canyon State for any reason except when allegedly “necessary” to save the life of the mother. Direct abortion is always gravely immoral and never needed nor ethically justified to save a mother’s life.
Hobbs and Arizona’s Democrat Attorney General Kris Mayes vowed not to enforce any of the state’s abortion restrictions, while the ruling elicited national outrage from the abortion lobby as well as criticism from Republicans who feared it might impact their political popularity, including former President and presumptive GOP White House nominee Donald Trump, U.S. Senate candidate Kari Lake, and Fox News primetime personality Sean Hannity.
READ: Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoes anti-infanticide bill requiring care for born-alive babies
On April 24, the Arizona House voted 32-28 to repeal the law, with three Republicans joining Democrats. On May 1, the Arizona Senate voted 16-14 to repeal, with two Republicans crossing over. While most Republicans voted to keep the abortion ban in place, the votes were narrow enough that repeal could not have reached the governors’ desk without the defectors.
Hobbs announced her signing of repeal the next day. “Today, we are doing what 23 governors and 55 legislatures refused to do, and I am so proud to be the ones that got the job done,” she declared. “Today, we should not rest, but we should recommit to protecting women’s bodily autonomy,” she added,” as well as “the ability to control their lives.”
“The repeal of the abortion ban is not the end of the pro-life cause in Arizona, but a challenge to recommit to our foundational values,” responded the Arizona Life Coalition, calling attention to the state’s upcoming ballot initiative to embed a “fundamental right” to abortion in the Arizona Constitution. “It serves as a motivation for those who believe in protecting both unborn children and women, to continue working towards changing culture and inspiring pro-life choices in all circumstances.”
READ: Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs wants to defund pro-life center for homeless pregnant women
Fourteen states currently ban all or most abortions. But the abortion lobby is working feverishly to cancel out those deterrent effects by deregulated interstate distribution of abortion pills, legal protection and financial support of interstate abortion travel, constructing new abortion facilities near borders shared by pro-life and pro-abortion states, making liberal states sanctuaries for those who want to evade or violate the laws of more pro-life neighbors, embedding abortion “rights” in state constitutions.
Democrats’ emphasis on the issue and Republicans’ retreat from it are both predicated on the belief that, because directly banning abortion is no longer a theoretical question, voters’ fear of a world without “choice” will punish strongly pro-life candidates.
READ: Democrat candidate for governor in Arizona refuses to disavow abortion up to moment of birth
Contrary to conventional wisdom, however, abortion itself was not a major factor in GOP underperformance in the 2022 midterms (the first major round of elections after Roe’s fall). This week, CNN’s Harry Enten warned Democrats that, despite President Joe Biden’s perceived electoral advantage on abortion, only 23% of voters said their candidate must agree with them on the subject, and only 5% rated it their most urgent issue.