Arizona Highlights Risk of 'Zombie' Laws
Reproductive Rights Judicial Interpretation Arizona Highlights Risk of 'Zombie' Laws The U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs ruling has breathed new life into long-unenforced abortion laws. By Alicia Bannon Published: April 23, 2024 Arizona Arizona Wisconsin Wisconsin Texas Texas Earlier this month, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that an 1864 law that bans virtually all abortions in the state is still operative.
The decision upended state and national politics in a key swing state and brought new attention to so-called zombie laws — long-unenforced statutes that remain on the books. Wisconsin, for example, has a similar law dating back to 1849 that has been challenged in court by the state’s attorney general. Centuries-old laws are often written in ways that don’t fit easily into modern categories, and a trial court held that the Wisconsin law did not apply to abortions but was rather limited to instances when a pregnant person was attacked.
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