While the Arizona Senate took the first step this afternoon toward repealing the Civil War Era Abortion Ban, several Democratic Legislators voiced their dismay with MAGA House Republicans for blocking the motion to move forward with the same measure in the lower chamber.
Arizona Legislative District (LD) 18 State Senator Priya Sundareshan, who offered a warning testimonial of further Republican obstructionism and deviousness in a social media post yesterday, April 16, commented following the MAGA House Republican obstruction:
“We are lucky to have Democrats who will do everything in their power to restore protections for the millions of Arizonans who need reproductive healthcare. However, our numbers are not yet enough to remove doubt about whether Republicans will join us in protecting our rights. Today is a perfect example of why we need to flip the legislature. Only then will we be able to codify abortion access and stop Republicans from interfering in our medical decisions ever again.”
At a press event following the MAGA Republican blocking the repeal vote to go forward, several Democratic Legislators gathered in the State Capitol Rose Garden to vent their frustrations.
LD 21 Stephanie Stahl Hamilton offered that:
“Republicans failed to show up for the people of Arizona. Keeping this archaic law on the books is their signal to us that they would rather cling to an ideology than show up and serve our people with wisdom and compassion…It is a shame that one person (House Speaker Ben Toma) would make himself the arbitrator of everybody else’s beliefs…This is not a theological issue. We are here to serve the people of Arizona and to make sure that we are enacting laws that provide so much good for the health and wellbeing of our people and today…that is not what happened.”
LD 11 State Representative and Assistant Democratic Leader Oscar De Los Santos eloquently framed the issue, saying:
“The message for today is clear: Arizona Republicans voted not once, but twice to uphold the draconian 1864 abortion ban that includes absolutely no exceptions for rape and no exceptions for incest. Our voices may not have been heard today but let us be clear, we will be heard in November. To the people of the state of Arizona, your choice is clear. If you believe that a 12 year old who has been raped by her stepfather should be forced to give birth, vote for the Republican Party. If you believe that families and medical providers should make their own decisions about their futures, then vote for Democrats. We are truly in an election cycle that is truly about freedom vs fascism and we’re seeing it play out in real time. The Republicans today turned their backs on the vast majority of Arizonans; Democrats, Republicans, and Independents who want this law repealed immediately…”
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