PHOENIX — One month after the Arizona Supreme Court upheld a near-total ban on abortion enacted 160 years ago, the state's Republican-controlled Legislature is on the brink of reversing a decision that has imperiled GOP candidates and put women's reproductive care at risk.
The state Senate is scheduled to convene at 10 a.m. Wednesday and is expected to finish the job the House started a week ago.
A handful of House Republicans sided with Democrats to provide a slim majority vote for a bill that would wipe the ban off the books.
The Senate session could produce a re-run.
Here's what you need to know:
Who are the key Senate votes?
In a chamber where Republicans have a one-vote majority, Senate Democrats will need the votes of at least two Republicans to repeal the ban.
The two Republicans to watch are Senators T.J. Shope of Coolidge, a member of the Senate leadership team, and Shawnna Bolick of Phoenix, whose spouse, Justice Clint Bolick, was part of the Supreme Court majority that upheld the 160-year-old abortion ban.
Both Shope and Bolick describe themselves as pro-life.
Two weeks ago both voted to keep alive a bill repealing the abortion ban.
Politics plays a role here. Bolick is running in a swing district where opposing a repeal could put her out of a job.
What if Senate votes for repeal?
If the Senate votes to repeal the ban, the bill could reach Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs' office later in the day Wednesday.
Hobbs' spokesman told 12News late Tuesday night that the governor wouldn't sign the bill Wednesday if it passed.
When would repeal take effect?
Bills become law 90 days after the end of a legislative session.
The legislative session typically, but not always, ends with the passage of a budget before the close of the fiscal year on June 30. (Last year's session meandered aimlessly into August.)
Assuming an end-of-June close of business at the Capitol, the abortion ban would be repealed around Oct. 1.
When will abortion ban take effect?
The other unanswered question is when the abortion ban will take effect.
The 1864 law would imprison doctors for two to five years if they perform an abortion. The only exception is to save the mother's life.
Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes is using court motions to delay the start date.
Last week, Mayes announced the law's effective date would be June 8.
Her office bought some time with a motion asking the Supreme Court to reconsider its reasoning. The court denied the motion.
Mayes office announced Tuesday morning the start date was pushed back 19 days, to June 27.
A few hours later, Mayes' office announced she asked the state Supreme Court for a 90-day pause on the ban, to weigh a possible appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
That would delay the ban's effective date well into September - not long before the potential effective date for the repeal.
That is just one scenario for how the abortion ban and its repeal could play out.
One thing is certain: If the near-total abortion ban is scrubbed, the state's ban on abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy would be reinstated.
That law, passed in 2022, doesn't provide exceptions in the case of rape or incest.
What lies ahead in November?
The Arizona Abortion Access Act, which would enshrine the right to abortion in the state Constitution, appears destined for a statewide vote in November.
House Republicans are discussing four versions of their own ballot referral to compete with the reproductive rights initiative or, in the words of the House counsel, confuse voters.
The House hasn't acted yet on those proposals. They would require majority support in the House and Senate to get on the November ballot.
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