The Pima County Board of Supervisors are taking a stand against the controversial reinstatement of Arizona’s territorial-era ban on nearly all abortions.
The law, which bans abortions except to save the life of the mother, was deemed enforceable by the Arizona Supreme Court in a 4-2 ruling last Tuesday.
The territorial-era ban was first passed in 1864, making it 48 years older than the state itself and 56 years older than women’s rights.
The 160-year-old ban prohibits the procedure under all other circumstances, even in cases of rape or incest.
Adelita Grijalva, the board chair, took note of the law’s age, saying that the issue goes to show the struggle women have in “trying to have possession.”
“You know, people keep saying, ‘well, my daughter has less rights than her (grandmother),’” Grijalva said Tuesday. “My daughter has less rights than her great-grandmother.
In a 4-1 vote, the board “reaffirmed” their 2022 resolution, which passed following the repealing of Roe v. Wade.
Supervisor Steve Christy, the board’s sole Republican, voted against Tuesday’s resolution. He was the only no-vote in 2022, as well.
This action by the board rebukes the Supreme Court’s 4-2 ruling, calls on “all county attorneys, law enforcement agencies, licensed medical providers and others across the state to do the right thing in supporting the human right of all Arizona residents.” It calls on state lawmakers to “repeal this 160-year-old abortion ban, passed by an all-male legislature” and to uphold the right to safe-and-legal abortion access “without unnecessary restrictions.”
Supervisor Matt Heinz, a doctor, took time to remind voters that two of the judges who made the abortion ruling are up for retention in November.
“In Arizona we all do something that is not done in some other states, and that is we vote on our judges, and two of the four justices who are responsible for this terrible decision are up for retention,” Heinz said. “(County residents) need to make the appropriate choice when it comes to retaining these justices, as to whether or not they’re consistent with the beliefs and priorities of the county and of the state.”
Heinz added that Pima County Superior Court Judge Kellie Johnson, who ruled in 2022 that the state could re-enforce the near-total ban, is “personally responsible for resurrecting this zombie-law from the 1800s.”
Like the justices, Johnson is also up for retention, Heinz said.
“I think it’s important for everyone to understand that this was done at a time in 1864 when the state of Arizona was a territory, and also an active, rebelling member of the Confederacy,” Heinz said. “This is not just from a territorial legislature, it’s from a then-enemy of the Union.”
In the days following the Supreme Court’s ruling, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs said she’s convinced she has the power to strip Arizona’s county attorneys of their authority to prosecute anyone for violating state abortion laws. And Pima County attorney Laura Conover has said her office won’t be spending “precious time or resources on the prosecution of those who are put in this impossible position, or medical providers.’’
