The Arizona governor, Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, called for an Arizona supreme court ruling to be repealed that permits enforcement of an 1864 law banning almost all abortions. Speaking at a press conference the governor said: ‘The near total civil war-era ban that continues to hang over our heads only serves to create more chaos for women and doctors in our state.’ First passed when Arizona was still a territory, the ban only permits abortions to save a patient’s life and does not make exceptions for rape or incest.

            • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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              7 months ago

              So the judiciary nullified a new law because the judiciary hadn’t nullified an old law. Sounds like you’re making my point for me.

              • wjrii@lemmy.world
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                7 months ago

                No, in this case, the 15-week law was specifically designed by the GOP in a purple state NOT to “create a right to an abortion.” It was a bullshit law meant to restrict as much as they could before Roe was overturned. Paragraph 24 on page 12:

                The legislature included a two-part construction provision in S.B. 1164, expressing its unequivocal intent that, in restricting elective abortion to fifteen weeks’ gestation, it did not create, recognize, or expand a right to an abortion, nor did it repeal § 13-3603’s proscription on elective abortion:

                This act does not:

                1. Create or recognize a right to abortion or alter generally accepted medical standards. The Legislature does not intend this act to make lawful an abortion that is currently unlawful.

                2. Repeal, by implication or otherwise, section 13-3603, Arizona Revised Statutes, or any other applicable state law regulating or restricting abortion.

                The solution is a state constitutional amendment that should be on the ballot.

    • BlackPenguins@lemmy.world
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      7 months ago

      If there’s any silver lining in all this it’s that Republicans can’t grasp the whole picture. They’re just doing the same thing they did in the midterms. Enduring some BS now so the Dems get the house, Senate, and presidency.

  • Flying Squid@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    Republicans have made a lot of hay out of legislating from the bench.

    It doesn’t matter what the people want. All they need to do is put the right judges in place.

  • Addition1291@lemmy.world
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    7 months ago

    Can someone with a legal background explain to me how a law written before the state even existed is somehow considered more legitimate than current law?

        • HobbitFoot @thelemmy.club
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          7 months ago

          Most states just continued their territory laws into state laws. By the time that Arizona became a state, there was a well used process of territories becoming states, including an established territory legislature and executive nominated by the President.

          It would usually be the task of the first legislature to change any law that needed to be changed to work with the new state constitution, but the changes would likely be minimal.