Arizona Supreme Court Upholds a 160-Year Old Abortion Ban

A near-total abortion ban could go into effect in Arizona as soon as this month. In a new ruling, the state’s supreme court voted 4-2 in favor of upholding a law from 1864 criminalizing all abortions except in cases in which the life of the mother is in danger.

The law is currently under a 14-day stay while a lower court hears additional arguments, per HuffPost. Since 2022, Arizona has had a 15-week cutoff for abortions, but this ruling would supersede that and punish abortion providers with up to five years in prison.

This 160-year-old law would be one of the most restrictive in the country, though many states have, in the past couple years, passed their own severe laws around abortion. A year ago Wyoming outlawed the abortion pill, and a T