Protesters shout as they join thousands marching around the Arizona Capitol after the Supreme Court decision to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion decision Friday, June 24, 2022, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
The law was never repealed, and a state court allowed the ban to remain in place last year as long as it was compatible with a 2022 law that allows women to get an abortion within the first 15 weeks of pregnancy.
In contending with the two distinct laws, the court concluded in a 4-2 ruling Tuesday that the 2022 law "does not create a right to, or otherwise provide independent statutory authority for, an abortion that repeals or restricts" the 1913 law.
The court's majority wrote that instead, it "is predicated entirely on the existence of a federal constitutional right to an abortion since disclaimed" by the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
The 160-year-old law is "now enforceable," the opinion read, and will go into effect in 14 days. Tuesday's highly anticipated ruling comes as the Supreme Court heard arguments in the case four months ago.
North Dakota's previous restrictions on abortion were challenged in court by what was formerly state's only abortion clinic. Pictured is an abortion clinic in Idaho. (Darin Oswald/Idaho Statesman/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
"The decision made by the Arizona Supreme Court today is unconscionable and an affront to freedom," Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, said in a statement. "Make no mistake, by effectively striking down a law passed this century and replacing it with one from 160 years ago, the Court has risked the health and lives of Arizonans."
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"Today's decision to reimpose a law from a time when Arizona wasn't a state, the Civil War was raging, and women couldn't even vote will go down in history as a stain on our state," the statement continued.
This is a breaking story, check back for updates.
Jamie Joseph is a writer who covers politics. She leads Fox News Digital coverage of the Senate.
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