By Liliana Salgado and Daniel Trotta
PHOENIX (Reuters) -Democrats in the Arizona House of Representatives tried repeatedly on Wednesday to repeal an 1864 ban on abortion, but failed to get the Republican support they needed against the Civil War-era measure that is about to was about to become state law again.
In four votes, the House deadlocked 30-30 on a procedural motion that would have allowed a repeal bill to be brought to the floor, with one Republican joining 29 Democrats.
One more Republican vote was needed to allow a vote on repealing a law that was written when Arizona was not yet a state and women did not have the right to vote.
Democratic leaders later told reporters they did not expect another vote on Wednesday but would try again in future sessions. Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs called the Republicans who enforced the law “extremists.”
“I will continue to call on the Legislature to do its job and repeal this law,” Hobbs said in a statement. “An 1864 law written by 27 men should not rule the lives of millions of Arizona women.”
Before Hobbs could sign a repeal bill, it would have to pass both houses of the state legislature.
A similar repeal effort is underway in the Senate, where Republicans have a 16-14 lead. Two Senate Republicans joined Democrats in voting in favor of the bill on Wednesday, but it needs two more such readings before it can reach the Senate floor.
Opposition to abortion is considered sacred to many Republican voters, and crossing party lines on such a touchstone issue would be rare in highly partisan times.
But if the 1864 law is repealed, there will still be a law passed by Republicans in 2022 that bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. And some Republicans have softened their hardline stance on abortion, mindful of the same polls that have emboldened Democrats.
Cathi Herrod, an influential conservative voice as president of the advocacy group Center for Arizona Policy, warned Republicans against defections ahead of Wednesday’s hearings.
Confident that public opinion is on their side in supporting abortion rights, Democrats have sought to elevate the issue since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to abortion in 2022 and Republican-led states imposed new strict restrictions have been introduced.
With or without repealing the 1864 law, Democrats in Arizona are also trying to submit a ballot measure to voters in November that would restore abortion rights.
Democrats hope the ballot measure will energize their voters in a deeply divided state that could swing to either party, potentially affecting the outcome of the U.S. presidential election, the balance of power in the U.S. Senate and control of both houses of the Legislature. state could determine.
The old law was revived by a state Supreme Court ruling on April 9, and unless the Legislature acts, it could go into effect within 60 days.
The law imposes a prison sentence of two to five years on anyone found guilty of inducing an abortion, except for a doctor who deems it necessary to save the mother’s life.
Arizona House Democrats tried to repeal the ban a week ago but were thwarted by the slim 31-29 Republican majority. On Wednesday, Republican Rep. Matt Gress joined Democrats, but one more vote was needed.
Democrat Stephanie Stahl Hamilton, sponsor of the repeal bill, said Democrats would persevere and that she was confident it would eventually be voted on.
“This is day two. Day one was last week,” Stahl Hamilton told reporters.
(Reporting by Liliana Salgado in Phoenix and Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, California; Editing by Scott Malone, Leslie Adler, Bill Berkrot and Lincoln Feast.)
