Arizona joins Mississippi, Florida in passing 15-week abortion ban

Arizona Capitol buidling.
(Image credit: Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

The Arizona House on Thursday voted to outlaw abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, bringing it in line with a growing number of Republican-led states passing "aggressive" anti-abortion measures, The Associated Press reports.

The state Senate had already passed the bill, which closely resembles the Mississippi law currently being considered by the Supreme Court. It will now make its way to Gov. Doug Ducey (R), "an abortion opponent who has signed every piece of anti-abortion legislation that has reached his desk since he took office in 2015," AP notes.

Many Republican-led states have recently moved to curb abortion rights. For example, Texas last year enacted its own incredibly strict abortion ban outlawing the procedure after just six weeks of pregnancy and deputizing private citizens to report those in violation. And earlier this month, the Florida legislature also passed a 15-week abortion ban, which Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is expected to sign. Additionally, Idaho Gov. Brad Little (R) on Wednesday signed into law a bill mirroring Texas', while another measure modeled after the Lone Star State's makes its way through the Oklahoma legislature, Axios reports.

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The Arizona bill contains no exceptions for rape, incest, or medical emergency. The state also 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]," AP writes.

Brigid Kennedy

Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.