Arizona GOP defies Trump, refuses to repeal 160-year-old abortion ban

Arizona Republicans shut down an attempt to repeal the Civil War-era abortion ban Wednesday, which Trump recently said had gone too far.

• Trump said last week a near-total, Civil War-era abortion ban in Arizona had gone too far.
• But Republicans Wednesday shut down an attempt to repeal it.
• The law makes providing or helping with an abortion punishable by up to five years in prison. 

Arizona Republicans shut down an attempt by Democrats to repeal a contentious abortion ban from 1864 that was reinstated by the state's Supreme Court earlier this month.

Democrats attempted to introduce a bill Wednesday that would repeal the ban during a state House legislative session, NBC reported. But two votes moving to discuss the bill failed.

"I would ask everyone in this chamber to respect the fact that some of us believe that abortion is, in fact, the murder of children," Republican House Speaker Ben Toma said, according to NBC.

The ban has gotten pushback from many in the GOP, including former President Donald Trump and Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake — both of whom are seeking reelection later this year. (That said, Lake praised the ban while campaigning for governor two years ago.)

Trump, for his part, said last week that the ban had gone too far. "That'll be straightened out," he said. "And I'm sure that the governor and everybody else are going to bring it back into reason."

The law effectively bans abortion — including in cases of rape and incest — except if a pregnant person's life is in danger. It makes providing or helping someone get an abortion a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.

Prior to the ban, abortions in Arizona were allowed through 15 weeks of pregnancy.