Sanor: Voters should have choices on abortion rights

Arizona Democrats delivered on the one thing Republicans promised to never do — repeal the 1864 abortion ban. During the weeks Democrats fought tirelessly to win the repeal, Arizona Republicans stalled the vote several times, lied about their long anti-abortion positions, and plotted to confuse voters. This ultimately made one thing exceptionally clear over the last few weeks — the rights of Arizonans and all Americans will remain at risk unless we defeat Donald Trump in November.

Trump has been pushing for a national abortion ban for years and is pushing that agenda down every level of the Republican Party. He appointed anti-abortion Justice Kavanaugh, who later helped issue the Dobbs decision overturning Roe. Trump brags that he “broke Roe,” and “was proudly the person responsible” for ending it. Trump also said “everybody’s very happy” that states are able to ban abortion without exceptions, it was an “incredible thing” that these extreme state abortion bans can happen, and endorsed prosecuting and punishing women who get an abortion.

In Arizona, Republicans have followed his lead. Gov. Doug Ducey appointed the judges who upheld the 1864 ban. Congressman Schweikert and Ciscomani have pushed bills like the Life at Conception Act and banning use of government funds for reproductive healthcare. Local Republican legislators helped Ducey pass the 15-week ban that will still be in place when the 1864 ban repeal is enacted.

Donald Trump and Arizona’s MAGA Republicans have made it so that Arizona women will still have to live under a ban that has no expectations for rape and incest and make it harder for Arizonans to access abortion care from their doctors.

Arizonans aren’t “happy” this ban and it’s not an “incredible thing” that our state has been thrown back into a time when women couldn’t vote, interracial marriage was illegal and the age of consent was 10 years old.

We need to vote Trump and these people out.
President Biden, Vice President Harris and Arizona Democrats down the ballot are running to restore women’s rights and protect women’s access to reproductive care. In 2022, we delivered the White House for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. President Joe Biden will veto any national abortion ban, a policy Donald Trump will try to enact if we allow him to reach the Oval Office once again.

The eyes of the country are on Arizona. We not only have the power to restore the rights Trump and Republicans took from us — we can protect the rights of women across the entire country for years to come by reelecting Joe Biden.