Republicans in Arizona blocked a Democratic attempt to overturn a controversial 1864 abortion ban that the state’s Supreme Court upheld earlier this month.
During a state House legislative session on Wednesday, Democrats attempted to present a bill that would remove the ban, according to NBC. However, two votes to discuss the bill were not successful.
“I would ask everyone in this chamber to respect the fact that some of us believe that abortion is, in fact, the murder of children,” Republican House Speaker Ben Toma stated.
Many Republicans, including former President Donald Trump and Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake, who are both up for reelection later this year, have opposed the ban. (Having said that, during his gubernatorial campaign two years prior, Lake endorsed the ban.)
Read more: Arizona Democrats’ Attempt to Repeal 1864 Abortion Ban Blocked by GOP
According to Trump, the prohibition has gone too far last week. “We’ll sort that out,” he stated. “And I’m sure that the governor and everybody else are going to bring it back into reason.”
Unless a pregnant person’s life is in jeopardy, the law essentially forbids abortion, including in circumstances of rape and incest. It makes giving or assisting someone to obtain an abortion illegal, with a maximum five-year prison sentence.
Arizona allowed abortions up to 15 weeks into a pregnancy before the ban.
