Arizona governor signs repeal of 1864 ban on abortion

Arizona's Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs signed the repeal of the state's Civil War-era near-total ban on abortion Thursday, a day after the legislation passed the state Senate.

Two Republican state senators teamed up with all 14 Democrats in the upper chamber on Wednesday, in order to pass the heavily criticized repeal. The legislation passed the House last week.

The 1864 ban outlawed abortion in all cases except to save the life of the mother. It could also punish people who perform the abortion by sentencing them to 2-5 years in prison.

"I've heard from doctors who were unsure if they would wind up in a jail cell for simply doing their job, women who told me they didn't know if it was safe to start a family here in Arizona," Hobbs said at the signing ceremony, per NBC News. "These excruciating conversations are exactly why I have made one thing clear, very clear: This ban needs to be repealed."

Hobbs's signature reverts the state's abortion law back to a 15-week ban that outlaws abortion after that point in all cases except to save the life of the mother. But some critics claim the new ban should also allow an abortion after 15 weeks in the cases of rape and incest.

The repeal will not go into effect until 90 days after the end of the current legislative session, which ended in July last year. If the legislative calendar is similar to last year's then the repeal would not take effect until October or November. But the 1864 abortion ban will still go into effect on June 27.