On April 9, 2024, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled to reinstate a law dating back to 1864, placing a complete and utter ban on abortions in the state. This law, older than the right for women to vote, is a clear and blaring violation of reproductive freedom.

   According to the Associated Press, “The law predating Arizona’s statehood provides no exceptions for rape or incest and allows abortions only if the mother’s life is in jeopardy” (apnews.com). Any human with the organs necessary to carry a pregnancy is now unable to protect their right to decide unless in the most dire of circumstances. According to Scientific American, “The average age of menarche, … [someone’s first menstrual cycle], in the U.S. is now 12, according to the most recent data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey…” (scientificamerican.com). Under this law, children as young as starting middle school, if able to become pregnant and give birth, will be forced to if they don’t have funds to travel to another state for treatment. There is no age group who is exempt from the ban.

   There is no way to talk about abortions and reproductive healthcare without acknowledging the atrocities that they serve to protect against. In the United States alone, a women is raped every two minutes, as per the Washington Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs (wscap.org). In the Arizona Sexual Violence State Report, published February 2019, “20.9 percent of Arizonan women reported attempted or completed rape of any type [in their life]…” (azdhs.org). A law that criminalizes terminating a pregnancy, one which was created by violence, is only to be described as cruel. How can this torture, being incapable of ridding the constant reminder of their pain, be justified?

   There are other reasons why people would like to control when they become and stay pregnant. According to the Guttmacher Institute, from a survey of 1,209 abortion patients, “The reasons most frequently cited were that having a child would interfere with a woman’s education, work or ability to care for dependents (74 percent); that she could not afford a baby now (73 percent); and that she did not want to be a single mother or was having relationship problems (48 percent)” (guttmacher.org). Forcing someone into poverty or to give up future ambitions to give birth means restricting their personal right to control what happens in their lives.

   Neither Arizona’s current law, nor any law regarding abortion, is set in stone. AP Government Teacher Michele Fournier said, “The Arizona state ballot coming up in November will allow voters within the state to vote whether or not they want to undo the state’s Supreme Court decision or maintain the ban on abortion in the state. If the ban is maintained, down the line, there could be a law passed that overrides the decision. There could also be a new ruling, with a separate case, from a less conservative Arizona Supreme Court that would undo the precedent.” Another scenario, Fournier said, would include a less conservative United States Supreme Court ruling to overturn the decision from the 2022 Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization case.

   It is clear that work is far from over for guaranteeing complete reproductive freedom. Even with the noticeable backlash against the decision, it’s unthinkable that the law was reinstated in the first place. Without local access to an abortion, people without the money or time to travel across state lines are stuck, forced into a parenthood they never planned for and do not want.