Reactions to House voting to repeal 1864 abortion ban

PHOENIX (KYMA, KECY/NBC) - Arizona's State House has voted to overturn an 1864 abortion ban, one of the country's strictest anti-abortion laws.

This was the third attempt by Arizona lawmakers, in as many weeks, to repeal the near-total abortion ban from the civil war era which was set to take effect in early June.

After a series of votes, three state House Republicans, including District 13 Representative Tim Dunn, joined Democrats in approving a repeal of the 1864 law that made abortion a felony punishable by two to five years in prison for anyone who performs one or helps a woman obtain one.

Earlier this month, Arizona's Supreme Court upheld the controversial ban.

Abortion rights supporters and Democrats all the way up to the White House are praising Arizona lawmakers for voting to repeal, with the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee issuing a statement saying in part:

"Today is a clear victory for Arizona House Democrats, whose persistence and hard work resulted in moving forward the repeal of the harmful 1864 abortion ban."

At the same time, Republicans responded to the repeal, with Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma saying in part:

"I feel compelled to reiterate my personal view that this decision to repeal the abortion ban in Arizona effectively means that we are allowing the murder of unborn children up to 15 weeks of pregnancy."

Biden-Harris 2024 Campaign Manager Julie Chavez Rodriguez released a statement saying:

"Donald Trump is responsible for Arizona’s abortion ban. Women in the state are still living under a ban with no exceptions for rape or incest and have been stripped of the freedom to make their own health care decisions. Trump brags that he is ‘proudly’ the person responsible for these bans and if he retakes power, the chaos and cruelty he has created will only get worse in all 50 states. President Biden and Vice President Harris are the only candidates who will stop him."

Tim Dunn issued a statement on his X account, saying in part:

"Should the pre-Roe remain in effect, I firmly believe more lives will be lost over time. The public backlash would result in codifying disturbing and unlimited abortions in the Arizona Constitution, which is something that I can't allow to happen. Make no mistake, my vote today is the most pro-life vote I can possibly make, at a time when my colleagues and I are placed in a position to make such a difficult judgment call."

The issue now moves to the State Senate, which could vote on the repeal as early as next Wednesday.