SW News: Proclaiming that every life is worthy from conception, the senate of the US state of Arizona voted on Tuesday to pass a bill prohibiting termination of pregnancy after 15 weeks of gestation. The Republican-led Senate passed the proposal in 16-13 party-line votes. The ban comes ahead of the most anticipated Supreme Court ruling of the Mississippi Gestational Age Act and many prolifers hope it could overturn Roe v Wade that legalized abortion in all states in 1973.

Once the bill becomes a law, any medical official providing an abortion will be imprisoned for a year, and their medical license revoked. The bill, which mirrors the Mississippi Gestational Age Act, does not offer exceptions even in cases of rape or incest. Emphasizing that all lives are sacred, the sponsor of the bill Senator Nancy Barto said, "The baby inside of a woman is a separate life and needs to be protected.''

Minority Democrats objected to the bill, claiming that the proposal was unlawful under Roe v Wade and other Supreme Court judgments that the high court may overrule. They also said that any restriction would disproportionately affect minority women, who would not travel to Democratic states where abortion regulations are strict.

Arizona already has one of the strictest abortion restrictions in the country, including one that would immediately criminalize it if the SC overturns Roe v Wade.

Meanwhile, according to the Associated Press, West Virginia House members also backed a similar abortion ban by a vote of 81-8, with exceptions only for medical emergencies or severe fetal deformities.