PHOENIX (AZFamily/AP) — Arizona’s Civil War-era abortion ban is officially off the books.

In April, the Arizona Supreme Court decided to let the state enforce the long-dormant 1864 law that criminalized all abortions except when a woman’s life was jeopardized. Then, state lawmakers voted on a bill to repeal that law once and for all.

Democratic Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs signed the bill in May, declaring it was just the beginning of a fight to protect reproductive health care in Arizona.

“When the Supreme Court reinstated Arizona’s 1864 total abortion ban, I called it a dark day for our state because I knew that ban would strip away our freedoms and endanger the lives of countless women. I saw a world where my daughter had fewer rights than I did at her age. And I committed to not rest until I had repealed the total abortion ban,” Hobbs said in a statement.

Abortion has sharply defined Arizona’s political arena since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022. As the November general election approaches, it will be up to Arizona voters to decide whether to enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution.

The road to repeal

After the state Supreme Court cleared the way for enforcement, Hobbs urged the state Legislature to take immediate action to undo the ban before it went into effect. Republican lawmakers, who hold a narrow majority in both chambers, derailed discussions about repealing the ban. At one point, the roadblocks resulted in chants of “Shame! Shame!” by outraged Democratic colleagues.

Emotions on the House floor and in the gallery ran high as House Democrats garnered the support of three Republicans to pass the repeal legislation two weeks later, sending it to the Senate for consideration. Two GOP senators joined with Democrats a week later to grant final approval.

The battle in Arizona made national headlines again when Democratic state Sen. Eva Burch told fellow lawmakers in a floor speech in March that she was going to get an abortion because her pregnancy was no longer viable. In an interview, she said it was her chance to highlight that the laws passed by legislators in Arizona “actually do impact people in practice and not just in theory.”

Arizona’s abortion measure, presidential race likely to boost young voter turnout

Current law

With the territorial ban no longer in play, Arizona law allows abortions until 15 weeks. After that, there is an exception to save the life of the mother, but missing are exceptions for cases of rape or incest after the 15-week mark.

Arizona requires those seeking an abortion before the 15-week mark to have an ultrasound at least 24 hours before the procedure and to be given the opportunity to view it. Minors must have either parental consent or authorization from a state judge, except in cases of incest or when their life is at risk.

Abortion medication can only be provided through a qualified physician, and only licensed physicians can perform surgical abortions. Abortion providers and clinics also must record and report certain information about the abortions they perform to the Department of Health Services.

Voters will decide

Voters will have the ultimate say on whether to add the right to an abortion to the state constitution when they cast their ballots in the general election.

Arizona for Abortion Access, the coalition leading the ballot measure campaign, was successful in securing the measure’s spot on the ballot. The Arizona Secretary of State verified that 577,971 signatures were collected as part of the citizen-led campaign, well over the 383,923 required from registered voters.

If voters approve the measure, abortions would be allowed until fetal viability — the point at which a fetus could survive outside the womb, typically around 24 weeks. It also would allow abortions after that time in cases where the mother’s physical or mental health is in jeopardy.

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The No. 20 Arizona Wildcats are coming off a 31-7 loss to the No. 14 Kansas State Wildcats on Friday, and they are smarting about a lot of things entering their bye week.

Perhaps no single statistic is rankling coach Brent Brennan more than the self-inflicted penalties that Arizona is creating on their own.

Through three games, the Wildcats (2-1) have 28 penalties for 269 yards. Through two games Arizona was already tied for No. 118 in FBS with 19 total penalties. That put the Wildcats at No. 121 in penalties per game (9.50).

So the nine penalties for 74 yards the Wildcats gave up against Kansas State will certainly keep them in the lower echelon of that list until Big 12 action kicks off in two weeks.

Frustration doesn’t begin to cover where Brennan is at with that particular area of the game.

Fixing it is on his to-do list once the team gets back to Tucson.

“The biggest thing we learned as a football team is we have to be more disciplined,” Brennan said to reporters after the game. “The penalty game, especially tonight and in Week 1 (against New Mexico) has been damaging.”

With no game until Sept. 28 for the Wildcats, this will give Brennan and staff time to work with players to try and correct the issues.

But some of that will come down to his players, too.

“That’s something where, as coaches, I think we can be more demanding of players in the small, technical pieces that can hopefully help you avoid some of those penalties. Every player has to do look at that and say, ‘What am I doing with my technique? My footwork?’ That gives them a chance to block someone correctly or cover a receiver correctly. I think that’s a big part of it. The good news is we have two weeks and we can go to work.”

Penalties certainly made a difference on Friday night, but so did Arizona’s inability to consistently run the ball.

The Wildcats had Quali Conley, but he gained 48 yards and scored a touchdown. Arizona was without Jacory Croskey-Merritt, who sat out due to an eligibility issue related to his 2019 redshirt season.

Wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan had a great bounce-back game on the edge, as he caught 11 passes for 138 yards but was unable to score a touchdown. His quarterback, Noah Fifita, threw for 268 yards but did not find the end zone and threw an interception.

When Arizona returns to the field, they will go to Utah to open Big 12 action on Sept. 28.

Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Arizona Cardinals fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys.

Happy Saturday morning one and all.

The Arizona Cardinals take on the Los Angeles Rams tomorrow afternoon and we wanted to know if you thought the Cardinals would win in week two against their division rivals, and the majority do not see it happening.

It makes sense. The Cardinals have been historically awful against Sean McVay, as they sit at 2-13 in that time.

So, it makes sense fans don’t think a win is on the horizon this weekend.

What was a little more dramatic was the drop in confidence of the direction of the team after one week.

Before their loss to the Buffalo Bills (who look like they are going to be a great team once again after their thorough beating of the Miami Dolphins) 83% of fans were confident in the direction of the team.

Now, only 65% are.

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