Opponents disappointed as bill to repeal abortion ban advances
Some abortion opponents in Arizona are disappointed following a vote in the state House of Representatives to repeal the state’s near-total abortion ban.
Three Republicans voted with Democrats on Wednesday to advance a bill to repeal the 1864 abortion law. The state Senate is expected to vote on the bill next week.
"The Senate last week was ready to pass it, so time will tell, but our state appears to be on a path to not protect the lives of unborn children or the health and wellbeing of their mothers," Cathi Herrod, president of the anti-abortion group, Center for Arizona Policy, said Wednesday. "I weep and grieve for the lives of unborn children that will be lost to abortion from today's vote."
Herrod has been calling on Arizona Republicans to uphold the 1864 law.
Alliance Defending Freedom attorney Jacob Warner, who argued in favor of the near-total abortion ban in the state Supreme Court case that reinstated it, said in a statement, "government officials — especially those who have promised to affirm life — should do everything they can to protect unborn children. Life is a human right, and it always will be. This doesn’t cease to be true because of a vote. We will continue to do everything we can to protect life and advocate for real support and real health care for women and families in Arizona and across the country."
