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ARIZONA STATE SENATE
Fifty-Sixth Legislature, Second Regular Session
FACT SHEET FOR H.B. 2677/S.B. 1734
abortion ban; repeal
Purpose
Repeals the criminal penalty of between two to five years imprisonment for any person who employs any means to procure the miscarriage of a pregnant woman when it is not necessary to save the woman's life.
Background
In 1864, the 1st Arizona Territorial Legislature enacted the Howell Code to serve as a basis for Arizona's laws, which included a ban on all abortions in which the mother's life is not at risk. Specifically, the Howell Code stated that any person who provides, administers or employs, or persuades a pregnant woman to use any medicine, drugs, substances, instruments or other means with the intent to procure a woman's miscarriage must be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for between two to five years, unless it is necessary to save the woman's life (Arizona Supreme Court). After becoming a state, the Arizona Legislature adopted an identical statutory provision into Arizona Revised Statutes, which was renumbered in 1977 as A.R.S. § 13-3603 (Laws 1977, Ch. 142, § 99).
In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled under Roe v. Wade that the U.S. Constitution placed limits on a state’s right to interfere with certain decisions about family and parenthood, including a woman’s decision to terminate her pregnancy. This formally recognized a woman's right to abortion until the time of viability (Roe v. Wade, 410 U.S. 113 (1973)). On March 20, 1973, the Arizona Court of Appeals ruled that A.R.S. § 13-3603 was unconstitutional and placed a stay on enforcement of the law (Nelson v. Planned Parenthood Ctr. of Tucson, Inc., 19 Ariz. 142 (App. 1973)). In 2022, Roe v. Wade was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization, 597 U.S. 215 (2022).
In 2022, prior to the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the Arizona Legislature enacted a prohibition on any abortion of an unborn human being whose gestational age exceeds 15 weeks, except in the case of a medical emergency (Laws 2022, Ch. 105). After the repeal of Roe v. Wade, the Arizona Superior Court issued a ruling to lift the stay on the original abortion ban in A.R.S. § 13-3603, once again making the law enforceable (Planned Parenthood Arizona v. Brnovich, C127867 (Ariz. Super. Ct. Sept. 22, 2022)). The ruling to lift the stay was appealed and the court order was stayed pending the appeal. In 2024, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that A.R.S. § 13-3603 was prospectively enforceable, lifting the stay on the original ban after a brief hold to allow for potential action by the trial court. In its ruling the Arizona Supreme Court stated that: 1) Arizona has never independently created a statutory right to abortion; and 2) the intent behind the creation of the 15-week limit enacted in 2022 was to regulate the federally-authorized right to an abortion previously afforded under Roe v. Wade, not to implicitly create independent statutory authority for elective abortion. As such, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that the restrictions in place under A.R.S. § 13-3603 supersede the 15-week limit adopted in Laws 2022, Chapter 105 (Planned Parenthood Arizona v. Mayes, CV 23-0005-PR (2024)).
There is no anticipated fiscal impact to the state General Fund associated with this legislation.
Provisions
1. Repeals the criminal penalty of between two to five years imprisonment for any person who provides, administers or employs, or persuades a pregnant woman to take, any medicine, drugs, substances, instruments or other means with the intent to procure a woman's miscarriage when it is not necessary to save the woman's life.
2. Becomes effective on the general effective date.
House Action
3rd Read 4/24/24 32-28-0
Prepared by Senate Research
May 1, 2024
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