Arizona Senate passes 15-week abortion ban

The Republican-led Arizona Senate has passed legislation that prohibits doctors from aborting a fetus after 15 weeks of pregnancy, Tucson.com reported.  

The state’s legislature approved the proposed legislation in a 16-13 vote on Tuesday. 

According to Senate Bill 1164, medical officials who conduct abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy could face a year in prison and lose their medical licenses.

State Sen. Raquel Teran (D) argued after the initial party-line vote occurred that the proposed legislation doesn’t have any exceptions in cases of rape or incest, according to Tucson.com

One of the bill’s co-sponsors, state Sen. Nancy Barto (R), said she doesn’t see any problem with the new bill. 

“The baby inside of a woman is a separate life and needs to be protected,” she said in a statement. “All life is sacred.”

Arizona’s new abortion ban is modeled after the Mississippi bill currently being considered by the Supreme Court. 

Barto said she is counting on the Supreme Court’s challenge of the Mississippi law to overturn those precedents, which could lead the question to which abortion is legal up to individual states, Tuscon.com reported. 

“A ruling in that case is expected in June. This measure makes Arizona ready to enforce that law if and when that decision is made,” Barto said. 

“Arizona politicians are banking on the Supreme Court upholding Mississippi’s 15-week abortion ban so they can quickly strip Arizonians of their rights and begin enforcement,” Planned Parenthood Arizona CEO Brittany Fonteno said in a statement. “It’s a cowardly path to a cruel end — denying Arizonians the right to make their own health care decisions.”