Arizona top court revives 1864 law that bans nearly all abortions

The Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday reinstated a law from 1864 banning nearly all abortions, reported news agency Reuters. In a 4-2 judgment, the court ruled in favour of an anti-abortion obstetrician and county prosecutor who pressed to implement the Civil War-ear statute after the Democratic attorney general of the key presidential battleground state declined to do so.

The 1864 law, which is older than Arizona becoming a state, makes abortion punishable by two to five years in prison, except when the mother's life is at risk.

The judgment came after months of legal wrangling about whether the pre-statehood legislation could be enforced after years of dormancy.