‘A disaster’: Vulnerable Arizona Republicans panic over abortion ruling
Arizona Republicans got just what they wanted Tuesday when the state’s Supreme Court upheld a 160-year-old abortion ban—enacted before the state was even a state—that criminalizes abortions and mandates prison sentences for providers. That ruling cements the state as a battleground in the 2024 election and is making life a lot tougher for the Republican candidates who made their careers in part by carrying water for the anti-abortion movement. Rep. David Schweikert is one of the most vulnerable, up for reelection in a district that narrowly voted for President Joe Biden in 2020. Schweikert is a six-time co-sponsor of the radical Life at Conception Act. That’s the legislation that would ban all abortions and does not exclude IVF treatments in defining a “person” as “each and every member of the species homo sapiens at all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization.” In 2022, Schweikert applauded the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, saying he was "pleased" that the decision “reaffirms the right to life.” He’s not so pleased now. “I do not support today’s ruling from the AZ Supreme Court,” he tweeted. “This issue should be decided by Arizonans, not legislated from the bench. I encourage the state legislature to address this issue immediately.” Another of those Biden-district Republicans, Rep. Juan Ciscomani, was so excited about the end of Roe that he declared it “A historic day!” and said "these policies should be set by the state." Now that his state has decided, he’s not so thrilled. He called the state court’s ruling a "disaster for women and providers" (and Republicans running for reelection), and called for the Arizona Legislature to fix it ... by reaffirming the state’s 15-week ban, which "protected the rights of women and new life.” Ciscomani is so committed to the “rights of women” that he’s a co-sponsor of the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act” which aims to keep women from getting health insurance that covers abortion. That applies to women who are serving in the military, veterans (who are covered under Medicaid), as well as federal employees and those covered by the Indian Health Service. Then there’s Senate candidate Kari Lake, who has been all over the place on the issue. When she was running for governor two years ago, she said the 1864 law was “great” and she was “incredibly thrilled” that that old law was in place so the state could impose a ban after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned abortion rights. “I think we're going to be paving the way and setting course for other states to follow,” she said. Now? “I oppose today's ruling, and I am calling on Katie Hobbs and the State Legislature to come up with an immediate common sense solution that Arizonans can support,” Lake said in a statement. “I have traveled to every corner of this state on the campaign trail,” she claimed. “I speak to more Arizonans than anyone and it is abundantly clear that the pre-statehood law is out of step with Arizonans.” What a difference two years and a bunch of elections can make. Lake and her GOP brethren are also likely freaking out over the fact that abortion will almost surely be on the ballot in November. The Arizona for Abortion Access campaign announced last week that it had already gathered more than 500,000 signatures for its ballot measure to amend the state’s constitution to protect abortion rights. The threshold is just 383,923 verified voter signatures, and the deadline is in July. Arizona Democrats were quick to jump on the ruling, giving those Republicans a taste of what’s to come. Here’s Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, who will likely end up facing off against Lake for the Arizona Senate seat. I won’t let Kari Lake distort the record. She called this law a “great law” - even though it will ban nearly all abortions, including in cases of rape or incest. pic.twitter.com/lXmtShrtSG— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) April 9, 2024 Help Gallego and all the Democrats running to take back the House, Please give $10 to each of these Daily Kos-endorsed candidates today! RELATED STORIES: Arizona ballot measure to guarantee abortion rights has 500,000 signatures Arizona can enforce an 1864 law criminalizing nearly all abortions, court says Morning Digest: Abortion powers Democrats to huge election night Florida's Supreme Court just greenlit a ballot measure to enshrine abortion in the state constitution—and simultaneously allowed the GOP's new six-week abortion ban to become law. That makes the already-high stakes for this amendment even higher, as we discuss on this week's episode of The Downballot. Co-hosts David Nir and David Beard also talk about the death of New Jersey's infamous "county line" and how the GOP managed to pick yet another whackjob candidate for yet another congressional special election. Embedded Content
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Arizona Republicans got just what they wanted Tuesday when the state’s Supreme Court upheld a 160-year-old abortion ban—enacted before the state was even a state—that criminalizes abortions and mandates prison sentences for providers. That ruling cements the state as a battleground in the 2024 election and is making life a lot tougher for the Republican candidates who made their careers in part by carrying water for the anti-abortion movement.
Rep. David Schweikert is one of the most vulnerable, up for reelection in a district that narrowly voted for President Joe Biden in 2020. Schweikert is a six-time co-sponsor of the radical Life at Conception Act. That’s the legislation that would ban all abortions and does not exclude IVF treatments in defining a “person” as “each and every member of the species homo sapiens at all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization.”
In 2022, Schweikert applauded the U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, saying he was "pleased" that the decision “reaffirms the right to life.” He’s not so pleased now.
“I do not support today’s ruling from the AZ Supreme Court,” he tweeted. “This issue should be decided by Arizonans, not legislated from the bench. I encourage the state legislature to address this issue immediately.”
Another of those Biden-district Republicans, Rep. Juan Ciscomani, was so excited about the end of Roe that he declared it “A historic day!” and said "these policies should be set by the state." Now that his state has decided, he’s not so thrilled. He called the state court’s ruling a "disaster for women and providers" (and Republicans running for reelection), and called for the Arizona Legislature to fix it ... by reaffirming the state’s 15-week ban, which "protected the rights of women and new life.”
Ciscomani is so committed to the “rights of women” that he’s a co-sponsor of the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion and Abortion Insurance Full Disclosure Act” which aims to keep women from getting health insurance that covers abortion. That applies to women who are serving in the military, veterans (who are covered under Medicaid), as well as federal employees and those covered by the Indian Health Service.
Then there’s Senate candidate Kari Lake, who has been all over the place on the issue. When she was running for governor two years ago, she said the 1864 law was “great” and she was “incredibly thrilled” that that old law was in place so the state could impose a ban after the U.S. Supreme Court overturned abortion rights.
“I think we're going to be paving the way and setting course for other states to follow,” she said.
Now?
“I oppose today's ruling, and I am calling on Katie Hobbs and the State Legislature to come up with an immediate common sense solution that Arizonans can support,” Lake said in a statement. “I have traveled to every corner of this state on the campaign trail,” she claimed. “I speak to more Arizonans than anyone and it is abundantly clear that the pre-statehood law is out of step with Arizonans.”
What a difference two years and a bunch of elections can make.
Lake and her GOP brethren are also likely freaking out over the fact that abortion will almost surely be on the ballot in November. The Arizona for Abortion Access campaign announced last week that it had already gathered more than 500,000 signatures for its ballot measure to amend the state’s constitution to protect abortion rights. The threshold is just 383,923 verified voter signatures, and the deadline is in July.
Arizona Democrats were quick to jump on the ruling, giving those Republicans a taste of what’s to come. Here’s Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, who will likely end up facing off against Lake for the Arizona Senate seat.
RELATED STORIES:
Arizona ballot measure to guarantee abortion rights has 500,000 signatures
Arizona can enforce an 1864 law criminalizing nearly all abortions, court says
Morning Digest: Abortion powers Democrats to huge election night
Florida's Supreme Court just greenlit a ballot measure to enshrine abortion in the state constitution—and simultaneously allowed the GOP's new six-week abortion ban to become law. That makes the already-high stakes for this amendment even higher, as we discuss on this week's episode of The Downballot. Co-hosts David Nir and David Beard also talk about the death of New Jersey's infamous "county line" and how the GOP managed to pick yet another whackjob candidate for yet another congressional special election.
