This week’s developments in Arizona underscored something that was already clear about the 2024 elections in the United States: abortion will become a major issue in state and federal elections — including the presidential race — and directly in the form of referendums in some states . .
An Arizona Supreme Court ruling allowing enforcement of a ban on abortion at all stages of pregnancy was part of a flurry of recent activity on the issue that has been in flux since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and sparked a national abolished the right to abortion. abortion in 2022.
Currently, fourteen states maintain bans on abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with two states currently banning abortion after about six weeks of pregnancy, before many women realize they are pregnant. Both figures are expected to rise within weeks due to recent court rulings, barring any surprise legislative or judicial action.
Here you will find information about the latest developments.
The Arizona Supreme Court this week resolved a confusing issue over the state’s abortion policy, ruling that enforcement could soon begin of an 1864 ban on abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with exceptions only to protect the life of the woman. save mother.
The decision overturns an appeals court ruling that found the current abortion law was one from 2022 that allowed abortion during the first 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Now the question is whether the stricter ban will come into effect this month or in June. When this does happen, it is expected that women will move to neighboring countries for abortion care.
The fallout from the ruling was swift.
The state’s governor, a Democrat, called on the Republican-controlled Legislature to repeal the near-total ban. But Republican lawmakers blocked discussion of it.
The Arizona Supreme Court has spoken and GOP legislative leaders have so far been reluctant to overhaul the state’s abortion policy.
But voters could have a direct say in November.
Arizona is one of several states this year with a movement asking voters to approve a constitutional amendment to protect abortion rights. Organizers say they have already exceeded the required 383,923 signatures, even though they are not due until July 3. Even having enough valid signatures may not guarantee it will appear on the ballot; there are often legal challenges to voting questions.
Ballot questions have already been approved for three states: Maryland and New York, where broad access already exists; and Florida, a state in a similar situation to Arizona. In a ruling earlier this month, the Florida Supreme Court cleared the way for a ban on abortions there after the first six weeks of pregnancy, with limited exceptions. A court ruling allowing the ballot question was issued on the same day as the ruling allowing enforcement of the abortion ban to begin on May 1.
Ballot measures to protect or expand abortion access could appear this year in Arkansas, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada and South Dakota. In Colorado and Missouri, there are competing proposed measures to both protect and restrict access.
This week, Maine lawmakers all but ensured that an amendment to enshrine abortion in the state constitution will not go before voters this year.
Since 2022, seven states have put abortion directly on the ballot. In both cases, voters have sided with abortion rights supporters, even in largely conservative Kansas and Kentucky.
President Joe Biden and other Democrats have made abortion access a key part of their campaigns this year.
It’s only going to intensify as a ban takes effect in Arizona, where Biden defeated former President Donald Trump by just 10,000 votes out of nearly 3.4 million cast when they faced off in 2020.
On the day of the Arizona ruling, Biden launched an ad campaign in Arizona blaming Trump, the Republican Party’s presumptive presidential nominee, for paving the way for the decision by appointing U.S. Supreme Court justices to review Roe v. Wade in 2022, ending a nationwide right to abortion and setting off state-by-state battles. Vice President Kamala Harris was also on her way to Arizona on Friday to discuss the topic.
In turn, Trump has taken credit for the Supreme Court appointments.
On Monday, Trump declined to endorse a federal ban, saying instead that abortion should be a matter for the states.
After Tuesday’s ruling, Trump said the Arizona ruling will take the ban there too far. “It will be fine,” he said Wednesday, “and I’m sure the governor and everyone else will get it right and it will be taken care of.”
Lawyers representing the state government in Iowa went before the state Supreme Court there Thursday asking that an abortion ban take effect as soon as heart activity can be detected — about six weeks.
The law went into effect last year, but a lower court judge put it on hold after just a few days, temporarily keeping abortion legal during the first 20 weeks of pregnancy.
It is one of many states where protracted lawsuits could change the status quo of the law.
The issue lies primarily with the state courts because it revolves around state constitutional issues.
But the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on April 24 on the limits of the state’s ban on abortion during pregnancy. The Biden administration says hospitals that receive Medicare money are required to provide emergency care, possibly including abortion.
It will be the second oral argument before the Supreme Court this year on an abortion-related issue. The court is also expected to rule in late June on whether the government’s approval of mifepristone, one of two drugs commonly used in combination in medical abortions, was appropriate. Most abortions in the US are now obtained through pills rather than surgery.
