Kari Lake Doesn’t Know What To Do
No more legal abortion in Arizona: Yesterday, the Supreme Court of Arizona upheld a 19th-century law that bans all abortions, except in cases where the mother’s life is in peril, with no exceptions made for rape or incest. The law stipulates two to five years in prison for those who aid abortions.
But it’s not all cut and dried: “The court, whose justices are all Republican appointees, also put its ruling on hold for the moment and sent the matter back to a lower court for additional arguments about the law’s constitutionality,” reports The New York Times. “Abortion providers said they expected to continue performing abortions through May as their lawyers and Democratic lawmakers searched for new legal arguments and additional tactics to delay the ruling.”
Previously, abortion had been legal up until 15 weeks in the state. That’s past the first trimester, and several weeks into the second, which makes it more permissive than most European countries. (Pre-Dobbs, dozens of American states were more liberal/permissive on abortion than most European countries, including states you’d never expect.)
Interestingly, Republicans in the state went into a panic over the ruling, fearing what happens to their candidates’ electoral changes in a battleground state, in an election year, given that voters do not tend to be huge fans of hardcore abortion restrictions. Possibly the most interesting reaction came from Kari Lake, the Republican vying for the seat Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, an independent, has vacated.
My statement regarding today’s Arizona Supreme Court Abortion Ruling pic.twitter.com/bNAjXd80TN
— Kari Lake (@KariLake) April 9, 2024
Two years ago, Lake called abortion “the ultimate sin” while noting that it should be determined at the state level, which is not technically inconsistent with her statement yesterday.
Still, there’s been a palpable rhetoric shift as Republicans seeking office realize abortion bans don’t play well—and, increasingly, a fracturing conservative movement torn between those who believe this is an area worth compromising on and those who believe steadfast protection of unborn life is more important than their own political ambitions.
Another effect, beyond the political implications for former President Donald Trump and Kari Lake, could be a state-level backlash. Activists in the state have already been working to get a measure on the ballot that would add abortion protections into the state’s constitution. “Advocates say they’ve already got more than 500,000 signatures, well above the threshold of 383,923 signatures needed by an early July deadline,” reports the Arizona Republic. (More background on the amending-the-state-constitution strategy, which we will see a lot more of in the years ahead.)
And Democrats, of course, will have to factor the decision into their campaign strategy. “Vice-president Kamala Harris will go to Arizona later this week,
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