CONFEDERATE STATES OF AMERICA

Abortion ruling by Attorney General 

Mark Brnovich sets Arizona women 

back to 1864

EJ Montini, Arizona Republic

Thu, June 30, 2022 

In order to file a dispatch on Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich’s latest ruling on abortion law, I feel I must first saddle up a horse and head to the telegraph office where a friendly operator will tap, tap, tap a message in Morse Code that will travel by wire to the towns and hamlets throughout the territory, letting the women-folk of Arizona know they are now living in 1864.

A time when inhabitants of our majestic desert paradise didn’t have indoor plumbing, and we were years away from telephones and those newfangled horseless carriages, let alone air conditioning.

Women were expected to be mothers and housekeepers in those days, with perhaps an outside job sewing, washing, cleaning houses or doing laundry in order to supplement the family income.

And they could not vote.

And abortion is outlawed.

A pre-statehood abortion law is back on the books

Brnovich announced in a tweet: “Our office has concluded the Legislature has made its intentions clear with regards to abortion laws. ARS 13-3603 (the pre-statehood law) is back in effect and will not be repealed.”

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade has allowed states to craft new anti-abortion laws or revert to those still lingering on the books. Like Arizona’s 13-3603.

It originated in early territorial days and was codified later.

The law says: “A person who provides, supplies or administers to a pregnant woman, or procures such woman to take any medicine, drugs or substance, or uses or employs any instrument or other means whatever, with intent thereby to procure the miscarriage of such woman, unless it is necessary to save her life, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than two years nor more than five years.”

How about hoop dresses and corsets?

No word if female Arizona residents also will be required to don long-sleeved hoop dresses that cover the wearers from neck to the floor. And corsets, of course, to accentuate the “S” shape of the female form.

I have not heard if Brnovich consulted with any women on his staff about his latest ruling.

Most abortion services paused: What you should know about alternatives

Then again, women couldn’t vote in the 1800s, so why would he ask their opinion?

When the Supreme Court ruled in favor of a woman’s right to abortion back in 1973, ARS 13-3603 became unconstitutional. But the Legislature never voted to repeal it.

So Brnovich says it is now the law of the land.

The Republican-controlled Legislature will not change that.

Ballot initiative could get us back to the present

However, a group of citizens calling themselves Arizonans for Reproductive Freedom is giving it a try. They’re working on an initiative drive that would give women autonomy over their bodies once again.

Sort of the way it was, once upon a time, in the 21st century.

It’s not going to be easy. The group must collect 350,000 valid signatures by July 7. Here’s how you can find a place to sign their petition.

People like Brnovich might want to turn the clock back 158 years, but things have changed.

Women do all kinds of work now. They are independent. They are educated. They have hopes and dreams. They have daughters and granddaughters.

And, yes, they can vote.

Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Attorney general's abortion ruling sets Arizona women back to 1864