April 9, 2024
Rep. Anthony Kern says this decision “was the right one”
Following the horrific Arizona Supreme Court ruling reinstating the 1864 territorial abortion ban, which allows for no exceptions in instances of rape, incest or health, Arizona’s MAGA Republicans are lying about their long and detailed history of following Trump’s lead in taking away reproductive rights:
- Kari Lake has made her opposition to reproductive rights clear, including supporting the 1864 territorial ban on abortion, and said just a few months ago her dangerous positions on abortion “haven’t changed, actually.” Lake’s extreme views include support for banning abortions without exceptions for rape or incest for Arizonans, that “life begins at conception,” celebrating the fall of Roe, and “banning those types of abortion pills” in reference to medication abortions.
- Congressman David Schweikert co-sponsored H.R.816 and H.R. 1011, which is a carbon copy of H.R. 431, Life at Conception Act that House Republicans introduced in 2023. Both pieces of legislation would ban all abortions and does not exclude IVF treatments in defining “person” as “each and every member of the species homo sapiens at all stages of life, including the moment of fertilization.”
- Congressman Juan Ciscomani co-sponsored H.R. 7, legislation that prohibits using government subsidies, including tax credits, to purchase insurance plans that cover abortions. Women who are serving in the military, veterans or covered under Medicaid, as well as federal employees and those covered by the Indian Health Service, would not be able to use their credits to purchase insurance that covers abortions.
- State Rep. Matt Gress sponsored House Bill 2427 sponsored bill establishing the foundation in Arizona for fetal personhood, opening the door for banning reproductive healthcare services such as IVF.
- Rep. Shawnna Bolick joined every Senate Republican in urging voters to refuse to sign the initiative to restore abortion access in Arizona, vowing to introduce anti-abortion legislation including banning abortion at the “moment of conception.”
- Senator T.J. Shope co-sponsored the bill to ban abortions at 15 weeks and it would have prosecuted doctors who performed abortions after 15 weeks.
- Former Governor Doug Ducey pushed through a 15-week ban that was the basis of this court case going to the Arizona Supreme Court, and appointed all the far-right justices that made the ruling today.
Arizona Democrats are prepared to fight for abortion rights up and down the ticket. To learn more about key initiatives, how to vote or how to support Democrats this election cycle, please visit azdem.org.