Arizona Can Enforce Law Criminalizing Most Abortions

PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Supreme Court says the state can enforce its long-dormant law criminalizing all abortions except when a mother’s life is at stake. The ruling examined whether the state is still subject to a law that predates Arizona’s statehood. The 1864 law provides no exceptions for rape or incest, but allows abortions if a mother’s life is in danger. The state’s high court ruling reviewed a 2022 decision by the state Court of Appeals that said doctors couldn’t be charged for performing the procedure in the first 15 weeks of pregnancy.