Arizona State Speaker of the House Ben Toma, R, speaks to reporters from the House floor at the Capitol, Wednesday, April 10, 2024, in Phoenix.
by Caitlin Sievers, Arizona Mirror
Republicans in the Arizona legislature are considering sending their own abortion measure to the ballot this November to compete with a citizen-led one that’s already in the works.
A day after the state House of Representatives erupted in chaos over an attempt to repeal a Civil War-era abortion ban that was just deemed enforceable by the Arizona Supreme Court, Republican House Speaker Ben Toma told conservative talk show host James T. Harris that his caucus was considering all its options.
The near-total ban on abortion that is set to become the law of the land in June was originally enacted in 1864, almost 50 years before Arizona became a state. The Supreme Court’s ruling could lure more Democratic voters to the polls this fall, threatening to upend Republicans’ tenuous control of the Legislature. The GOP has a one-seat majority in each legislative chamber, and Toma acknowledged the political difficulty of the situation.
A handful of Republicans, including some in competitive districts, are calling for a repeal of the 1864 ban, most notably Phoenix Rep. Matt Gress, who made the initial motion on April 10 to bring a Democratic repeal bill up for a vote.
Instead of voting on the bill, Gress’s Republican colleagues voted to recess. But some GOP lawmakers have publicly said they also want to repeal the 1864 abortion ban, including Rep. David Cook and Sens. T.J. Shope and Shawnna Bolick.
Toma conceded that Republicans will face the consequences of their actions at the ballot box this November, and speculated that was motivating the Republicans — all of whom have professed to be anti-abortion — to push to allow abortions.
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