Rifts in the ranks

DAYS AFTER the Arizona Supreme Court upheld a 160-year-old state law prohibiting nearly all abortions, lawmakers in Phoenix were pushing to repeal it. In a reversal of political norms, though, some ostensibly pro-life Republicans were helping lead the repeal effort.

The state’s highest court had ruled April 9 that Arizona could enforce an 1864 statute making it a felony to perform or induce an abortion unless the mother’s life is at risk. While the court placed enforcement on hold for 14 days, its decision ­superseded a 2022 lower-court ruling that permitted abortion until 15 weeks of pregnancy.

Now, as state lawmakers prepared to convene again on April 17, several state Republicans were considering joining with Democrats to pass a repeal that would reinstate the 15-week ban. Republican state Rep. Matt Gress had earlier criticized the 1864 near-­total abortion ban as “draconian” and said it “needs to be repealed immediately.” Republican Sen. T.J. Shope had called the 15-week ­window for abortion a “reasonable” limitation. Other GOP legislators were on the fence about how they would vote.

The Arizona ruling hurled the state into the epicenter of abortion politics and is gauging Republican lawmakers’ commitment to their pro-life convictions. In a presidential election year, the swing state’s political fight could have major repercussions for the Republican Party, which has long relied on its pro-life base.

One day after the ruling, conservatives in the Arizona Legislature—led by staunchly pro-life House Speaker Ben Toma and Senate President Warren Petersen—blocked an immediate legislative attempt by Democrats and some Republicans to repeal the 1864 ban. After the failed effort, enraged Democrats chanted, “Shame! Shame!”

Toma called Democrats’ behavior “childish” and said he wouldn’t rush a repeal through the House without a larger discussion.

The April 17 repeal effort ultimately went both ways: It advanced in the state Senate but failed in the House of Representatives after the abortion statute’s opponents failed to gain enough support there. If the statute survives repeal, it is slated to take effect 45 days after the state Supreme Court issues its final ruling, expected as soon as late April.

Besides Arizona, 14 states enforce statutes that outlaw virtually all abortions. In some cases, the 2022 repeal of Roe v. Wade reactivated state laws on the books since the 19th century. Arizona’s Civil War–era statute is part of a territorial legal code written nearly 50 years before it became a state. Roe blocked the statute’s enforcement for decades.

The territorial law states that any person who “provides, supplies, or administers” abortion-inducing medicine or procedures will be imprisoned for up to five years unless the mother’s life is at risk.

Former President Donald Trump disavowed the Arizona Supreme Court ruling, claiming it “went too far.” He upped the pressure on state lawmakers, calling them to “remedy” the situation quickly. Days earlier, Trump had announced he would not support a national abortion ban and that restrictions on the procedure should be left to the states. While Trump has repeatedly taken credit for overturning Roe, he began signaling a middle-of-the-road position on life issues last year.

Laura Pedersen, a 64-year-old pro-life activist in Tucson, stood outside a Planned Parenthood facility on April 12 wearing a pink T-shirt reading “Unborn lives matter.” She said she was disappointed in Trump’s recent comments on pro-life issues, but she still planned to vote for him since she sees no other conservative option. “I also trust he will come back on the side of life after he is back in office,” she said.

Other voices calling for an Arizona compromise included U.S. Senate ­candidate Kari Lake, who previously supported an abortion ban but now declared it “out of line with where the people of this state are.”

Arizona state Rep. Matt Gress, R-Phoenix, speaks to reporters on the House floor at the Capitol. Matt York/AP

Pro-life groups condemned Trump and other GOP leaders for their lackluster defense of the unborn. Steven Aden, chief legal officer for Americans United for Life, called Trump’s remarks on the Arizona ruling disappointing and “a compromise made for political expediency and political gain.” Kelsey Pritchard, state public affairs director at Susan B. Anthony Pro-life America, urged Republicans against “allowing Democrats to define them.”

Meanwhile, Democrats seized on Arizona’s court ruling as an opportunity to mobilize voters. President Joe Biden, who called Arizona’s abortion ban “extreme and dangerous,” promised that if reelected, he would seek sweeping federal protections for abortion. In Arizona, a ballot initiative would enshrine abortion in the state’s constitution if approved at the polls in November. (Republican legislators debated whether to promote a competing ballot initiative that would moderate the Democratic one.)

Steven Aden said time will tell whether Trump and other GOP leaders’ middle-of-the-road approach to pro-life issues costs them in the November elections. “We will keep holding their feet to the fire,” he said.

In a closely contested state like Arizona, the stakes are high for Republican politicians who flip-flop on pro-life issues. Marc Burmich, CEO of the Phoenix-area Choices Pregnancy Centers, worries the pro-life movement has become “disenfranchised and frustrated.”

“As a whole [it] needs a wake-up call,” he said.

This version of the story that appears in the May 4 issue of WORLD Magazine has been updated to reflect the results of April 17 legislative votes in Arizona.