Arizona Supreme Court further restricts abortion, enforcing near-total ban

The Arizona Supreme Court has allowed a near-total abortion ban from 1864 to go into effect, only permitting care to save the life of the mother. The decision further restricts abortion in the state where a 15-week ban was in effect.

However, the court will allow a temporary block of the near-total ban while the trial court decides how to proceed.

The court found that protections for abortion rights in the state rested "entirely" on Roe v. Wade, which allowed federal protections for the right to abortion. Since Roe has been overturned, the court found that it could begin enforcing a state statute prohibiting nearly all abortions.

Anyone found guilty of violating the ban will face two to five years in state prison.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes. a Democrat, immediately came out against the ruling, saying "no woman or doctor will be prosecuted under this draconian law in this state."

"The decision made by the Arizona Supreme Court today is unconscionable and an affront to freedom," she said in a statement. "Make no mistake, by effectively striking down a law passed this century and replacing it with one from 160 years ago, the Court has risked the health and lives of Arizonans."

The ruling came as part of a lawsuit over whether the 1864 ban could be reinstated. The court also sent a legal challenge against the abortion ban back to trial court.

In a dissenting opinion, one of the justices found that "the majority mistakenly returns us to the territorial-era abortion statute last operative in 1973," Justice Ann Timmer wrote.

"I would leave it to the people and the legislature to determine Arizona's course in the wake of Roe's demise," Timmer added. "With great respect for my colleagues, I dissent."

Planned Parenthood Arizona CEO Angela Florez said in a statement, "Today is a dark day for Arizona. As a doctor, I know first-hand that abortion bans and criminalizing abortion do not reduce the very real need and demand for this essential health care. Instead, bans force people to carry unwanted pregnancies, seek abortion outside of the health care system, or bear the financial burden of traveling hundreds or thousands of miles for care – which is simply not possible for many Arizonans."

President Joe Biden slammed the Arizona Supreme Court ruling upholding that 1864 abortion ban, calling the ban "cruel" and a "result of the extreme agenda of Republican elected officials who are committed to ripping away women's freedom."

"Millions of Arizonans will soon live under an even more extreme and dangerous abortion ban, which fails to protect women even when their health is at risk or in tragic cases of rape or incest," Biden wrote in a statement.

Vice President Kamala Harris will be in Tucson on Friday to discuss abortion rights, her second trip this year.

SBA Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser called the decision an "enormous victory for unborn children and their mothers" and indicated anti-abortion advocates in the state will now work to defeat a ballot measure that would protect abortion access. The measure has not yet been added, but Indivisible, the group leading the effort, say they've collected enough signatures to be make the ballot in November.

Arizona Women of Action, an anti-abortion rights group, called for "continued prayers for Life from conception to be respected," and also asked for Arizonans not to support the ballot initiative.

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said no women or doctors will be prosecuted under this law while she remains in office.

"The decision made by the Arizona Supreme Court today is unconscionable and an affront to freedom. Make no mistake, by effectively striking down a law passed this century and replacing it with one from 160 years ago, the Court has risked the health and lives of Arizonans," Mayes said in a statement.

ABC News' Molly Nagle and Libby Cathey contributed to this report.