In the US state of Arizona, a decades-old law that bans abortions in almost all cases can be reinstated. A state Supreme Court judge late Friday night (local time) announced her decision to overturn a 1973 injunction against the law. The much older law allows abortions only if the mother’s life is endangered. In all other cases, including rape or incest, abortions are prohibited.
The law, which dates back to 1864, was blocked in 1973 when the Supreme Court ruled in Roe v. Wade ruled that women have a constitutional right to abortion. The judge now argued that with the Supreme Court overturning that judgment in June this year, the injunction against the law must also be overturned. The decision can still be appealed. It is still unclear whether the law will actually apply.
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre called Saturday’s ruling “catastrophic, dangerous and unacceptable” and said it would “set Arizona women back by more than a century.” If the decision stands, doctors who perform abortions face “up to five years in prison for fulfilling their duty of care”. The “backward-looking decision” is “exemplary of the disturbing trend in the country” that Republicans are trying to deprive women of their rights.
