Arizona Republicans kill abortion pill ban

Three GOP members of the Arizona House defected from a united Republican front to ban the manufacture or prescribing medication that would cause an abortion. Those “no” votes unexpectedly killed the measure that would have eliminated the choice used by half of the people who have abortions in the state. A “yes” vote would have left surgery as the only option. The Alabama legislature is considering an abortion pill ban of its own. That measure is being debated alongside the so-called “abortion heartbeat bill,” which would ban abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. is one of two major anti-abortion bills in the Republican-controlled Legislature this year. The other would outlaw abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy and has passed the Senate. APR’s Baillee Majors produced a multi-part series on the heartbeat bill. Click below to hear those stories again.