Arizona lawmakers today repealed an abortion ban that first became law in 1864, when Abraham Lincoln was president and a half-century before women won the right to vote.
The repeal narrowly passed the Republican-controlled State Senate with the support of all 14 Democratic senators and two Republicans.
Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, is widely expected to sign it, after which abortion policy in the state would revert to a 2022 law that restricted the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy.
Democrats sought to use the ban to energize voters in Arizona, a battleground state.
On the right, the issue created a rift between anti-abortion activists who wanted to keep the law in place and Republicans who worried about the potential backlash of a near-total ban with no exceptions for rape or incest.
Persons:
Abraham Lincoln, Katie Hobbs, Roe, Wade
Organizations:
Republican, Senate, Democratic, Gov, Democrat
Locations:
Arizona