Arizona Legislature Passes 15-Week Abortion Ban

Arizona lawmakers passed a bill banning most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy, becoming the second state legislature to push through this restriction ahead of a pivotal Supreme Court decision that could alter the abortion rights landscape nationwide.

The Arizona House of Representatives passed the bill in a 31-26 vote Thursday. It now heads to the desk of Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican who has signed restrictions on abortion since becoming governor in 2015.

The legislative efforts in Arizona follow similar moves in Florida, where Republican lawmakers earlier this month approved a ban on most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

These bills are similar to the Mississippi law at the centre of a Supreme Court case that challenges the high court’s 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which established a constitutional right to abortion. Similar bills in West Virginia and Kentucky passed one chamber in those state legislatures.