Arizona Revised Statutes 13-3603 (1864), or ARS 13-3603, was a territorial law enacted in 1864 before Arizona was granted statehood that banned abortion in any circumstances except when the mother’s life is at risk. The law remained in place even after Arizona was granted statehood in 1912 and reflected the nineteenth- and twentieth-century legal approach to abortion across the United States. However, the US Supreme Court Case Roe v. Wade (1973), hereafter Roe, overturned the statute by establishing a federal constitutional right to abortion, and made ARS 13-3603 unenforceable. The law has since been significant in legal discourse following the federal law Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022), hereafter Dobbs, which overturned Roe and allowed state governments to re-enforce pre-existing abortion laws, including ARS 13-3603. By allowing states to reinstate pre-existing abortion restrictions, the Dobbs decision enabled the territorial law ARS 13-3603 to re-enter legal discussions after Dobbs.

Arizona Senate Bill 1164 (2022), or SB 1164, prohibited abortions after fifteen weeks of pregnancy except when necessary to protect the life or health of the mother. The Arizona Senate and the Arizona House of Representatives passed SB 1164, and then-governor Douglas Ducey signed the bill into law on 30 March 2022. The passage of SB 1164 reinforced the state’s ability to regulate abortions following the US Supreme Court decision Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (2022) decision, hereafter Dobbs, which overturned the federal law Roe v. Wade (1973), hereafter Roe. Roe had established abortion as a constitutional and federal right and prohibited states from banning abortions before fetal viability. Roe defined fetal viability as the point when the fetus has a chance of surviving outside the womb without extreme medical help. Dobbs returned the regulatory rights to the states. Arizona’s SB 1164 has helped shape the legal framework concerning reproductive rights in the state by prohibiting abortions after fifteen weeks and replaced Arizona’s previous 1864 law titled Arizona Revised Statutes 13-3603, or ARS 13-3603.