A Civil War-era abortion ban in Arizona was repealed on Thursday.
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, signed a bill on Thursday that will repeal the state’s 160-year-old abortion ban.
As reproductive rights continue to be a hot-button issue after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in the summer of 2022, which lets individual states decide how to handle abortion, Arizona repealed a near-total abortion ban that was enacted in 1864.
The Civil War-era law, which prohibits abortions except to save the life of the mother, went unenforced for decades in the state after the Supreme Court in 1973 created federal protections for abortion rights in its Roe v. Wade ruling.
Earlier this month, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that the ban enacted in 1863 was enforceable, which sparked outrage among reproductive rights activists.
On Wednesday, the Arizona Senate passed the repeal in a 16-14 vote with two Republicans voting to repeal the near-total ban after the state House voted to repeal the ban last week.
Hobbs signed the bill repealing the near-total abortion ban on Thursday as the crowd around her applauded and cheered.
