The electoral stakes for the 2024 presidential election just got very interesting here in the Grand Canyon State.
In recent years, my beloved native state has become very purple and is teetering on the edge of blueness. Anything that could go leftist wrong has. The Democrats haven't yet had a chance to remake the Arizona Supreme Court, however. If we keep pulling a Colorado here, they'll eventually get their chance.
For the moment, though, the court is still mostly conservative and willing to draw some battle lines.
PHOENIX — Arizona's territorial-era law outlawing abortion except to save the life of the mother is enforceable, the state Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.
In a split decision, four of the justices said that the 2022 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade eliminated what that case had said was a constitutional right of women to terminate their own pregnancy.
Justice John Lopez, writing for himself and three of his colleagues, noted that state lawmakers never repealed the old law even after the original Roe decision. That means it remains valid.
The majority also rejected arguments that a 2022 law allowing abortion through the 15th week of pregnancy superseded the earlier law.
Things will get even more interesting if lawmakers here tackle the issue. Currently, Republicans hold whisper-thin majorities in the Arizona House and Senate (Sound familiar?), which would lead to knock-down, drag-out chaos.
This ruling doesn't have full effect for now. A stay has been issued that allows for abortions to be performed up until 15 weeks. The stay is in effect for 45 days after the Supreme Court ruling.
Arizona's burgeoning blue demographic is already on it, of course. Pro-abortion advocates are collecting signatures to get an initiative on November's ballot. Naturally, they think that 15 weeks is too restrictive:
That measure would allow the procedure to be performed for any reason at all until the point of fetal viability, generally considered between 22 and 24 weeks of pregnancy. But it also would permit abortions at any time beyond that to protect the life or health of the mother, verbiage that foes say could lead to legal abortion right up until just before childbirth.
They have enough signatures to get it on the ballot. Given the new makeup of the electorate here, it will probably pass.
The Democrats see abortion as their biggest winning issue for this election. Republicans will be leading with the border nightmare. Now, thanks to the Arizona Supreme Court, that debate has a huge spotlight on it. In a sane world, the very real border nightmare here should dwarf the Dems' abortion lust. The world isn't sane though.
Related: Election 2024 Will Be an 'Abortion vs. Border' Battle That the GOP Needs to Learn How to Fight
There are a lot of Republican voters who think that the party should relax its stance on abortion in the interest of political expediency. Honestly, if the GOP becomes the "Abortion Lite" party, I'm out. The Democrats have gone so far left on everything that I'm not a fan of compromising with them anymore. Each capitulation by the Republicans drags the country closer to the edge of the leftist cliff.
Caving on abortion might just push it off.
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