By JONATHAN J. COOPER Associated Press
PHOENIX (AP) — Democrats pounced Tuesday on an Arizona Supreme Court ruling that permits enforcement of an 1864 law effectively banning abortion in the state, blaming former President Donald Trump and Republicans and pressing for political advantage on an issue that could dominate a critical 2024 battleground.
The ruling permits doctors or others to be prosecuted for performing an abortion at any time unless the mother’s life is in danger, with no exceptions for rape or incest. President Joe Biden ‘s campaign immediately blamed the ruling on Trump’s appointment of three Supreme Court justices who voted to overturn a federally guaranteed right to an abortion.
“The girls today and the young women do not have the rights that we once did because of Donald Trump,” said Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego, a Democrat. “Donald Trump is dangerous and reckless.”
The decision will give Arizona the strictest abortion law of the top-tier battleground states heading into November’s election. Biden and his allies are emphasizing efforts to restore abortion rights, while Trump has avoided endorsing a national abortion ban and warned that the issue could lead to Republican losses.
In a sign of Republicans’ political bind, even Kari Lake, a staunch Trump ally and abortion opponent who is running for Senate in Arizona, said the total abortion ban “is out of step with Arizonans.” It’s a shift from two years ago when Lake praised the 1864 law. Several Republican legislators called for the law to be repealed.
“This issue should be decided by Arizonans, not legislated from the bench,” said U.S. Rep. David Schweikert, an Arizona Republican who previously praised the overturning of Roe v. Wade.
Trump reshaped the U.S. Supreme Court during his presidency, moving the court to the right and paving the way for the Dobbs decision in 2022 that allowed for the enforcement of state laws like Arizona’s.
The Arizona…
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