Abortion access within the United States has taken another hit after the Arizona Supreme Court passed a historic near-total ban. CNN reports that the court “ruled the state must adhere to a 123-year-old law” that bans abortions with only one exception — when the pregnant person’s life is in danger.
According to Reuters, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled 4-2 in favor of an anti-abortion obstetrician and a county prosecutor who wanted to enforce an old abortion law.
Arizona’s abortion law dates back to the 1860s
The state’s abortion law first appeared in 1864, but it wasn’t codified into Arizona’s charter until 1901, per CNN. Arizona became a state in 1912 after being approved for statehood by President Howard Taft.
The law also carries a sentence for abortion providers of two to five years of prison time. The court granted a 14-day stay on the law, allowing abortions to continue before it takes effect.
NPR cites that the state’s largest abortion provider, Planned Parenthood Arizona, will continue providing abortion care for as long as it’s allowed. There is also a petition for Arizonians to add a measure to the 2024 ballot that would protect abortion rights for the state.
Arizona’s Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs told reporters, “Let me be clear. Arizona’s 2022 abortion ban is extreme and hurts women, and 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.”
Once enacted after the 14-day stay, the state’s near-total ban will become one of the strictest abortion bans in the U.S. The Civil War era law places Arizona alongside Texas, Alabama, and Mississippi, which also have bans with few exceptions.
Bans affect Latinas and Latine menstruating people disproportionately
A 2022 report shared by the UCLA Latino Policy and Politics Institute cited how cisgender Latinas would be “disproportionately impacted” by the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
The study found that Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision’s effects on women of childbearing age, including increased self-induced abortions and cross-state travel for abortion services, pose significant challenges.
People of color and low-income individuals bear the brunt of restrictive abortion policies, facing potential economic and health consequences. For Latinas, who make up a more significant portion of younger demographics, these policies are especially damaging, particularly in states with such restrictions.
UCLA’s Latino Policy and Politics Institute also notes that Latinas in the U.S. are statistically more likely to be in their childbearing years than non-Hispanic white women.
In 2019, approximately 58% of adult Latinas fell into the age range for childbearing, whereas only about 38% of white women were in this demographic category. The data indicated that, on average, Latinas tend to be younger than white women across the nation.
An analysis by the National Partnership for Women & Families and the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice revealed that nearly 6.7 million Latinas in their reproductive years reside in the 26 states where abortion has been banned or is expected to be prohibited, per NBC.
While a 2023 report identified Texas, Florida, and Arizona as having the most Latinas affected by abortion bans, the Guttmacher Institute study revealed that 24 states still offer some protection for abortion rights.
