US abortion rights: Arizona judge approves return to 19th century near-total ban
The judge lifted an injunction which barred enforcement of a law allowing abortion only to save the mother's life.
This year the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, which determined there was a constitutional right to abortion.
Since then US states have been deciding if or when to allow the procedure.
Arizona's law predates the state's founding and includes a two- to five-year prison sentence for anyone who helps someone get an abortion.
It was blocked in 1973, after the Supreme Court's historic Roe v Wade ruling.
Judge Kellie Johnson of Pima County Superior Court lifted this injunction on Friday.
The decision was condemned by the White House as "catastrophic, dangerous and unacceptable", with a spokesperson highlighting the lack of exemptions for survivors of rape and incest, or women with medical conditions.
The president of Planned Parenthood Arizona, Brittany Fonteno, said she could not overstate how "cruel" it was.
"No archaic law should dictate our reproductive freedom," she said.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-63019248
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