By Kessa Walker
The Arizona Supreme Court brought back an abortion ban that had not been in use since the Civil War and pro-women’s rights. This ban would prohibit healthcare providers from providing the service of abortions, without any exceptions for rape or incest, and doing so would be punishable by up to five years in prison. This ban seems insidious as it does not persecute the woman who will be obtaining the abortion but the doctors who will need to do the procedure. This is sure to result in not a fewer number of abortions in the state of Arizona but more dangerous and life-threatening abortions with severe consequences. Even more concerning is Arizona’s large Native American population. Throughout history, women of color, especially Native women, have had their bodily autonomy taken away through sterilization. Consequently, the abortion ban seems to be another way to control what women can do with their bodies and lives.
This particular ban in Arizona is quite sneaky as it does not prosecute the women for receiving the abortion but the doctors for carrying through with the procedure. In limiting access to abortions, the law has found a foolproof way to prevent it. The ban would sentence healthcare providers up to five years in prison for the procedure and would put the doctor in an impossible position to decide whether the life and mental health of the patient is more important than their license. Although a doctor may want to perform the procedure on the individual, in doing so, they are entirely risking their reputation, their license, and even their own livelihood in the case of imprisonment. Placing such an extreme punishment on healthcare providers is a massive incentive to turn down patients or provide alternative routes to abortion.
Women have been obtaining abortions for centuries. Before the mid-1800s, it was not uncommon for abortion recipes, such as herbal teas or medications, to be found in medical literature or newspapers. However, this was not the case for enslaved Black women, for whom abortion was banned as their bodies were seen as the property of white slave owners. By 1910, abortion was banned nationwide, with the expansion of white males entering the gynecology field. In the 1960s, there started to be pushback against these abortion laws, leading to more states legalizing abortions and Roe v. Wade in 1973, which would legalize it across the US. However, it’s essential to note that before women could safely get abortions without fear of prosecution, there were thousands of unnecessary deaths. “It is estimated that before 1973, 1.2 million U.S. women resorted to illegal abortion each year. Furthermore, unsafe abortions caused as many as 5,000 annual deaths.”This statistic may not even be the full number of women who died from unsafe abortions, as some were not accounted for due to a lack of knowledge. In 1948, it was supposed that the range of deaths from unsafe abortions could be from 8,000 to 10,000 a year. Now that abortions have been legalized, women can receive not only the emotional support but the medical safety of a trained physician to ensure they are not put in danger, with a mortality rate of less than 1 per 100,000 deaths. Throughout the years, women have been faced with the challenging decision of getting an abortion, which has led to multiple dangerous outcomes that have unfortunately taken the lives of many. As abortion is universal healthcare, this ban would not actually stop those from receiving an abortion but increase the number of unsafe ones and the mortality rate of women.
This ban seems particularly sinister as Arizona has one of the largest Native populations in the US at 12.9% and with 22 Native tribes. This ban would not be the first time Native women would have their bodily autonomy stripped from them. In the 1970 Family Planning Services and Population Act, about 25% of Native women who were of the age to have children were sterilized just three years before Roe v. Wade. Some of these procedures happened without the consent of the woman. Once again, Native women go through the struggle of being silenced by a government meant to protect them, yet instead have a more significant say over their bodily freedom.
Legislators hope to repeal this ban, as they tried to in the Arizona House of Representatives although they have not succeeded. With the House having a Republican majority, it may be difficult but not impossible. However, there is still light at the end of the tunnel. “The state court delayed enforcement of the ban for at least 14 days to allow plaintiffs to challenge it, meaning abortions are still allowed in the state.”
The Arizona abortion ban uses a tricky tactic in not prosecuting the woman for the abortion. However, focusing on the doctors leads to the lack of professional healthcare knowledge on how to provide safe abortions for women, therefore putting women in an even more difficult spot and, unfortunately, often resulting in many unnecessary deaths. This, combined with the historical policing of Native women, manifests in a chilling and sinister lack of concern for all women’s bodily autonomy and future.
Kessa Walker is a 20-year graduating senior from Chicago, Illinois, who attends the University of SanFrancisco. She is a political science major deeply interested in American politics and women’s rights.