Former Obama adviser David Axelrod believes Arizona’s near-total ban on abortion is an “earthquake” that could lead to an election victory for Democrats.
The CNN contributor expressed his views on “The Situation Room” Tuesday, discussing how the Arizona Supreme Court’s ruling upholding a 160-year-old ban on abortions could “tip this election” in favor of Democrats.
“This has put the health care of women and peace of mind of women across Arizona at risk. And so we should not forget the substance of this,” Axelrod said.
The state’s high court has allowed 14 days for the ruling to go into effect, giving lower courts the time to consider “additional constitutional challenges.”
“But as a political matter, this could not be more of a disaster for the Republican Party. Yesterday Donald Trump said it’s up to the people in the states. Let the states decide,” he continued, referring to the former president’s remarks on the issue this week.
‘Will of the people’: Trump clarifies his stance on abortion, states’ rights https://t.co/ZYnrkgPo2j via @BIZPACReview
— BPR based (@DumpstrFireNews) April 8, 2024
Trump had taken to social media to say he supports in vitro fertilization (IVF) and that states should individually determine their abortion laws, making exceptions for rape, incest, and dangers to the life of the mother.
“Well, here you find what happens when you let the states decide,” Axelrod lamented on Tuesday.
“In Florida, a six-week ban is in place. I guarantee you in both those states, if you put that on the ballot, and they will be on the ballot in the form of initiatives, that a majority of voters in those states do not agree with those policies,” he contended.
This decision in AZ could very much impact the outcome of the presidential race in a key battleground state.
There is an effort underway to put an abortion rights initiative on the Nov. ballot. With this ruling, that take on greater meaning and would surely affect turnout. https://t.co/FBY3BPTwKI— David Axelrod (@davidaxelrod) April 9, 2024
“So I think what this does is it puts a battleground state more in the leaning D column than the leaning R column because I think there’s going to be a massive turnout in November for a constitutional amendment in the state of Arizona because the voters of Arizona now have a demonstration of the fragility of abortion rights in the post-Dobbs era,” said the former senior advisor to then-President Barack Obama.
“I think this is an earthquake, those electoral votes in Arizona could be the ones that tip this election,” he warned.
Arizona’s abortion ban is still on the books in the state and the state Supreme Court ruled in a 4-2 decision Tuesday that it is still enforceable.
“Physicians are now on notice that all abortions, except those necessary to save a woman’s life, are illegal … and that additional criminal and regulatory sanctions may apply to abortions performed after fifteen weeks’ gestation,” reads the ruling.
“The legislature has demonstrated its consistent design to restrict elective abortion to the degree permitted,” the decision says.
“The law — which was codified in 1901, and again in 1913 — outlaws abortion from the moment of conception but includes an exception to save the woman’s life,” according to NBC News.
“That Civil War-era law — enacted a half-century before Arizona even gained statehood — was never repealed and an appellate court ruled last year that it could remain on the books as long as it was ‘harmonized’ with a 2022 law, leading to substantial confusion in Arizona regarding exactly when during a pregnancy abortion was outlawed,” according to NBC News.
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Author: Frieda Powers
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