Arizona House votes to repeal controversial 1864 abortion ban, with help from three Republicans

Three Republicans joined Democrats in the Arizona House on Wednesday to vote to repeal the state’s controversial 1864 ban on nearly all abortions, which was revived by a court ruling earlier this month and includes only exceptions to save the life of the pregnant woman.

The final vote was 32-28.

“I’ve known for a long time that the votes were there, it just takes a lot of strength, a lot of courage,” Democratic state Rep. Stephanie Stahl Hamilton, who sponsored the bill, told ABC News’ Jaclyn Lee.

Hamilton said she had several phone conversations with Republicans the night before the vote, and while she did not disclose the details of those conversations, she said it made her cautiously optimistic.

“The eyes of the world were watching Arizona, and that’s not hyperbole, so these are decisions that we have to make for the people and if you could talk to the people in these districts, you would find that this is an issue that they are on showing up and representing the people of their district, which is what they were elected to do,” Hamilton said.

The bill now heads to the state Senate, where it could be taken up as early as next week.

On Wednesday, the Senate separately held a second reading of its own abortion ban repeal bill, without objection, setting up a parallel vote, though that’s probably moot now because the House bill has been approved.

Two Republican senators have already said they will support the repeal effort, indicating that the House bill would need to pass that chamber and then go to Gov. Katie Hobbs’ desk to be signed into law.

The repeal of the abortion ban would then take effect 90 days after the end of the legislative session, which must be before June 30.

“It’s a stain on history that this ban even exists, from a time when the age of consent was 10, from a time when women didn’t have the right to vote,” said state Sen. Eva Burch, a Democrat. . ABC News’ Elizabeth Schulze amid an earlier failed effort to pass the repeal bill in the state House.

Many Republican state lawmakers on Wednesday strongly opposed the push to repeal the Civil War-era ban that has roiled state politics after the Arizona Supreme Court ruled it is enforceable.

But prominent conservatives such as Trump, former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and Senate candidate Kari Lake have touted their general support for abortion restrictions but said the 1864 ban goes too far.

“This complete ban on abortion that the Arizona Supreme Court has ruled is not in line with the situation of the people of this state,” Lake said in a video statement on social media earlier this month.

House Speaker Ben Toma rose to challenge the vote on the House floor Wednesday. The leader has openly opposed “rushing” any repeal legislation.

Republican state Rep. Alexander Kolodin also accused the body, including Republicans who joined Democrats, of moving forward due to political pressure and compared abortion to the murder of “babies.”

“At the end of the day, their politics are important but they are not worth our souls,” he said.

Another Republican state representative, Jacqueline Parker, condemned the Republican votes for repeal and called abortion “akin to slavery.”

The issue is likely to be put directly before voters in the November elections.

The Arizona Abortion Access Campaign has been working to get a potential constitutional amendment on the state’s ballot to enshrine abortion access. Democrats believe that could increase voter enthusiasm and turnout for their candidates, given the success of abortion access in previous elections since Roe v. Roe’s nationwide protections were overturned. Wade in 2022.

The campaign has said they have gathered more than 500,000 signatures, exceeding the necessary threshold, but will continue to gather signatures “until the dust falls,” a spokesperson told ABC News.

ABC News’ Oren Oppenheim contributed to this report.