Arizona Republicans advance 15-week abortion ban measure

(KYMA, KECY/ AP News) - Arizona Republicans are moving swiftly and have advanced a measure to outlaw abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy ahead of a highly anticipated U.S. Supreme Court decision.

And it's a decision that could bring seismic changes to abortion availability in the United States.

Arizona already has some of the nation’s most restrictive abortion laws, including one that would automatically outlaw it if the high court fully overturns Roe v. Wade, the nearly five-decade-old ruling that enshrined a nationwide right to abortion.

Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee voted Thursday to advance the 15-week ban in case the Supreme Court further limits abortion rights but stops short of fully overturning Roe.

Lawmakers heard from nearly a dozen people on both sides of the long-simmering debate over abortion rights, including women who said their abortions saved their lives or futures and others who said they later regretted terminating their pregnancies.

The Arizona bill would make it a crime for a doctor to perform an abortion after 15 weeks but would prohibit the prosecution of women for receiving one. Doctors could face felony charges and lose their license to practice medicine.

Arizona is one of at least three GOP-led states considering bans on the procedure after 15 weeks. Similar legislation is under consideration in Florida and West Virginia.