The law does not make exceptions for cases of rape or incest but allows for exceptions in cases where the pregnant person's life is in danger.
Storyboard
The current state of abortion
Arizona's Supreme Court ruled that a near-total abortion ban from 1864 could be enforced. The ruling makes Arizona the latest state to effectively ban the procedure and came a week after Florida's Supreme Court agreed to let a six-week abortion ban begin. Both decisions are likely to place abortion rights front and center for the election and impact the politics of several battleground states. As abortion access narrows across the country, the costs — both medical and logistical — are rising.
Photo: i.insider.com
ARIZONA’S RULING
The 160-year-old law makes providing an abortion or helping someone get an abortion a felony punishable by two to five years in prison.
Kari Lake bashed the law as "out of step with Arizonans." But two years ago, she called the law "great" and said it could pave the way for other states.
POST ROE V. WADE
Americans are still infuriated that Roe v. Wade is no longer the law of the land, a feeling that reverberated throughout the key races in the 2023 elections that could be a foreshadowing of what's to come this year.
ABORTION PILLS
The Supreme Court is due to hear a case about limiting access to mifepristone later this year, with a decision likely to come in the middle of the election race.
CVS and Walgreens will start selling mifepristone in some US states. The move follows a 2023 FDA decision to allow certified pharmacies to sell the abortion drug.
THE DEBATE OVER IVF
Earlier this year, Alabama's Supreme Court ruled that frozen embryos have the same rights as born, living children. Most House Republicans backed a bill making a similar argument — with no IVF exception – which highlights the ongoing consequences of anti-abortion efforts in the wake of overturning of Roe.
TRUMP’S STANCE
Should he regain the White House in November, former President Donald Trump has expressed support for a 16-week national abortion ban. Over the years however, his stance on the issue has shifted considerably.
