Arizona is the first state in the nation to make sex- or race-selection abortions a crime.

Gov. Jan Brewer on Tuesday signed into law House Bill 2443, which makes it a felony for a doctor to perform an abortion based on the sex or race of the fetus.

Opponents of the measure have questioned whether such a practice was really occurring.

Republican supporters had said that statistics show a high percentage of abortions are being sought by minority women and that abortion clinics intentionally locate in minority areas.

They said statistics show that some populations are increasingly seeking abortions based on the fetus' sex.

Democrats argue that statistics show that neither is happening.

Rep. Steve Montenegro, R-Litchfield Park, said he pushed the legislation because of fears women would choose to abort because they didn't like the gender or the race of the baby.

Rep. Katie Hobbs, D-Phoenix, said the only proof Montenegro offered was a magazine article on such practices in China and India.

The law allows the father of an aborted fetus - or, if the mother is a minor, the mother's parents - to take legal action against the doctor or other health-care provider who performed the abortion. If convicted of the felony, physicians would face up to seven years in jail and the loss of their medical license.

The governor did not comment on the bill before it reached her desk, but her spokesman, Matthew Benson, said Tuesday that the legislation is "consistent with her pro-life track record."

"Governor Brewer believes society has the responsibility to protect its most vulnerable, the unborn," he said.

Republic reporter Mary Jo Pitzl contributed to this article.