Abortion rights activist protests during a rally in Arizona on July 4. Photo: Sandy Huffaker / AFP via Getty Images
The Arizona Court of Appeals issued a ruling Friday saying abortion doctors can't be prosecuted under an 1864 law that criminalizes nearly all abortions.
Driving the news: But the court declined to repeal the pre-statehood law, which has been barred from being enforced for nearly 50 years.
- Doctors can't be charged for performing the procedure because of other state laws allowing the procedure.
- "The statutes, read together, make clear that physicians are permitted to perform abortions" as regulated by existing abortion laws, the ruling states.
Background: The 150-year-old law makes it a felony to perform all abortions except those needed to save the life of the mother, and it does not provide exceptions for rape or incest.
- It was ruled unenforceable in 1973 after Roe v. Wade created a national right to abortion care.
- After the reversal of Roe earlier this year, anti-abortion Republicans sought to have the injunction of the pre-statehood law lifted so it could be enforced again.
What they're saying: "This is a monumental victory," Planned Parenthood president and CEO Alexis McGill Johnson said in a statement.
- "For the past six months, Arizonans have lived in a state of confusion and uncertainty with the ongoing threat of this Civil War-era abortion ban. Today, patients and providers can finally breathe a sigh of relief."