Control of the legislature this November will be critical for restoring Arizonans’ reproductive rights
ARIZONA – Arizona House Democrats just successfully pushed the GOP-controlled legislature to repeal the harmful 1864 abortion ban, following weeks of Republican obstruction and political games. Immediately following the state supreme court’s ruling that the 160-year-old ban could take effect, Arizona Democrats repeatedly pushed for its repeal but were blocked by Republicans in the majority who refused to allow votes to occur. Then, last week, news broke that Republicans are scheming to introduce an anti-abortion ballot measure proposal to confuse and mislead voters in November, in a blatant attempt to undermine the success of the Arizona for Abortion Access ballot measure.
Only after intense national backlash and fear of political repercussions did Republicans cave – the repeal of the 1864 ban would mark a clear victory for Arizona Democrats. Still, the law will then go back to a dangerous 15-week abortion ban – also unpopular with voters. Arizona Republicans have made clear they will undermine abortion access at every turn. Flipping control of the Arizona state legislature has never been more important. Arizona legislative Democrats are on the frontlines of protecting abortion access – building Democratic power in the state is the best defense against threats to reproductive freedom.
Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee National Press Secretary Sam Paisley issued the following statement:
“Today is a clear victory for Arizona House Democrats, whose persistence and hard work resulted in moving forward the repeal of the harmful 1864 abortion ban. Democrats have spent the last few weeks sounding the alarm on Republicans’ obstruction since the state supreme court paved the way for this arcane 160-year-old ban to take effect. Still, an unpopular and dangerous 15-week abortion ban remains. The only way to protect reproductive freedoms is to elect Democrats to the legislature to repeal this ban too.
“From repeatedly refusing to allow a vote to repeal the 1864 ban for weeks to scheming to undermine the Arizona for Abortion Access ballot measure, Republicans’ anti-abortion extremism couldn’t be more apparent. Only under serious national pressure and concern for their political future did Republicans cave. Arizona Republicans are too extreme and out of step with voters, and it’s never been more important that we flip two seats in each chamber to deliver Democratic majorities where true champions of reproductive justice can lead. The DLCC is all hands on deck to ensure Arizonans understand the stakes of altering the balance of power in the state legislature to shape the direction of Arizona.”
The Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee (DLCC) is the official Democratic Party committee dedicated to winning America’s state legislatures and building state infrastructure. Over the last decade, we have fought cycle-over-cycle to gain a dozen new legislative chamber majorities and we are leading the effort to bring national attention and investment to our ballot level. State legislatures are the building blocks of our democracy and have the closest connections to Americans’ day-to-day lives. From protecting fundamental freedoms and voting rights to growing the middle class, the DLCC and state legislators are moving the Democratic agenda forward and shaping the future of this country.
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