PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona Republicans are moving swiftly to outlaw abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy ahead of a highly anticipated U.S. Supreme Court 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. The measure closely mirrors a Mississippi law that is under review at the Supreme Court.
Under current abortion rulings, abortion is legal until the point a fetus can survive outside the womb, which is usually around 24 weeks.
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.
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