GOP lawmakers advance bill making abortion after 15 weeks a felony for doctors

PHOENIX — Arizona moved a step closer Wednesday to enacting new restrictions on abortion, a procedure one legislator called “close to genocide” for Black children.

On a 6-4 vote, with only Republicans in favor, the House Judiciary Committee approved Senate Bill 1164. It seeks to make it a felony, with a possible one-year prison term, for a doctor to terminate a pregnancy after 15 weeks.

The measure already passed the Senate — also on a party-line vote — and now needs approval of the full Republican-controlled House.

Republican Gov. Doug Ducey has also expressed support for imposing more restrictions. He said the historic 1973 Supreme Court decision of Roe v. Wade that legalized abortion was a “mistake” the justices should correct.

It is that “correction” that abortion foes are presuming will occur, with the justices set to rule by June on the legality of a Mississippi law banning abortions at 15 weeks with wording that is virtually identical to SB 1064. The Arizona measure seeks to put that on the books here in anticipation the court will uphold the Mississippi law.

Rep. Walt Blackman, R-Snowflake, said if it were up to him all abortions would be illegal. Last year he proposed legislation saying women undergoing the procedure could be prosecuted. His bill did not get a hearing and he did not reintroduce it this year.

Blackman, who chairs the Judiciary Committee, said Wednesday that his Black community is “under attack.”

“There are more Black babies that are aborted than born,” he said, putting the national figure of terminated pregnancies at 1,300 a day. He said the Black population has decreased, though the 2020 Census Bureau report showed that while Black population growth has slowed, it is still increasing nationally.

“That’s not a Republican or a Democrat or an independent issue,” Blackman said. “That’s a human rights issue. And it’s close to genocide.”

Sen. Nancy Barto, R-Phoenix, sponsor of the measure, said Roe v. Wade opened the door to abortion at any time prior to a birth.

“Arizona can distance itself from abortion extremists by limiting abortion to 15 weeks,” she said.

In Arizona, however, state law allows a women to terminate a pregnancy only until a fetus is considered viable, now medically considered to occur sometime around the 22nd to 24th week of pregnancy.

Barto said that’s still too long. “Babies at 15 weeks gestation already have fully formed noses, lips, eyelids and eyebrows,” she said. “They suck their thumb and they feel pain.”

That last point, however, has been disputed by various organizations, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

But Rep. Quang Nguyen, R-Prescott Valley, called that irrelevant. “Do we have to wait until a fetus feels pain so that we can justify not killing him or her?” he asked.

Rep. Melody Hernandez, D-Tempe, pointed out that the measure contains no exception in cases of rape or incest.

Back to homepage

Subscriber Login

Keep reading with a digital access subscription.

Subscribe now

Barto said that was by design. “All life deserves protection,” she said.

The bill does contain an exception for a “medical emergency.” But that would only be in cases where it is necessary to avert the woman’s death or when a delay “will create serious risk of substantial and irreversible impairment of a major bodily function.”

Hernandez, who is a paramedic, said that is far too narrow.

For example, she said pregnant women can develop preeclampsia, which manifests itself with high blood pressure and signs of damage to other organs.

Hernandez has said she had an abortion three years ago after a rape. She said there are other types of emergencies that should also be exceptions to the ban, such as a domestic violence situation where a woman chooses to terminate a pregnancy as a way of protecting herself.

“What about the emergency of somebody suddenly losing their job and their health insurance?” she said. “Maybe they’re the only ones who can provide that income.”

Barto said she considers allowing women to have an abortion at up to 15 weeks a generous exception itself. “If it were up to me, I think we would honor the life of a child born at conception,” she said.

Blackman said he sees it as a constitutional issue. He said that, at 15 weeks, any baby conceived by parents who are U.S. citizens falls under the same 14th Amendment equal protection rights.

“This person, in the womb, is an American citizen and is afforded the same constitutional rights as the person carrying the baby for protections under the law,” Blackman said.

Dr. Atsuko Koyama, who does pediatric emergency care as well as provide abortions, said the measure, if approved and allowed by the U.S. Supreme Court to take effect, will have a disproportionate impact.

She called it “a ban on abortion for women who don’t have the ability to travel out of state, take time off work, find child care, or access abortion care early in their pregnancy.”

The first point refers to the fact that, regardless of what the Supreme Court does, several other states already acted to protect abortion rights. Arizona cannot preclude its residents from going elsewhere for medical care that is legal there.

“Forcing anyone, but especially girls and teens, to continue their pregnancy is inhumane and unconscionable,” Koyama said.

Hernandez said she sees this as a “human rights issue.”

“It’s about providing protection and pathways for all people to be able to decide what it looks like for them and whether or not that includes starting a family,” she said.