Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs' signing of the repeal of a Civil War-era ban on nearly all abortions was a stirring occasion for the women working to ensure the 19th century law remains in the past. Current and former state lawmakers, and reproductive rights advocates crowded into the 9th floor rotunda outside Hobbs’ office at the Capitol on Thursday afternoon, hugging and taking selfies to capture the moment. Hobbs says the move is just the beginning of a fight to protect reproductive health care in Arizona. A repeal won't take effect until 90 days after the current legislative session ends.

Democratic Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs has signed a bill to repeal a ban on most abortions. The action Thursday relegates the 1864 law approved before Arizona became a state to the past. The repeal won’t go into effect until 90 days after the legislative session ends, which typically is in June or July. Hobbs says signing the bill is just the beginning of a fight to protect reproductive health care in Arizona. It won final legislative approval Wednesday in the Arizona Senate, with two GOP lawmakers joining Democrats.

Abortion is still consuming U.S. state legislatures, courts and political campaigns two years after the draft of a Supreme Court decision that would upend the status quo was leaked. On Wednesday, a new ban on abortion after the first six weeks of pregnancy took effect in Florida. In Arizona, meanwhile, an abortion ban that dates to 1864 was repealed. Those are just the latest developments in a landscape that's been shifting constantly since May 2, 2022, the day the country got word that the Supreme Court appeared likely to overturn Roe v. Wade. The court did indeed reverse Roe the following month.