How the GOP candidates in a key Arizona congressional district reacted to abortion ruling
The crowded field of Republican candidates running to succeed retiring Rep. Debbie Lesko had mixed reactions to the Arizona Supreme Court's decision Tuesday to uphold a territorial-era law that bans nearly all abortions.
State Sen. Anthony Kern, R-Glendale, led a prayer group on the Senate floor the day before the decision was released and said on Tuesday the court made “the right” decision.
"Americans cannot expect our nation to be healed if we continue to kill our children," Kern wrote on social media.
Likewise, former U.S. Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz., who made restricting abortion one of his signature issues while in office, praised the decision in a written statement to The Arizona Republic.
"The Arizona Supreme Court should be commended for rightly divining the law and fulfilling their constitutional mandate to protect the right of the innocent to live,” he wrote.
The other candidates running for the U.S. House in Arizona's solidly Republican 8th Congressional District had more ambivalent responses to the ruling.
Blake Masters, a venture capitalist and unsuccessful 2022 candidate for U.S. Senate, did not directly state his position on the 1864 law but wrote in a statement, "I'm proud to be pro-life and I make no apology for it."
He continued: "I also know that this issue arouses sincere and intense passions. I believe we Arizonans can have a debate over this issue on our own terms, and in the coming days we'll see how the Arizona legislature responds," going on to argue that liberal groups would use the issue to "distract" from other objections Republicans have raised with President Joe Biden's record.
Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma, R-Glendale, distanced himself from the ruling and suggested that he would be open to policy changes that would mitigate the impact of Tuesday's decision. He wrote in a joint statement with Senate President Warren Petersen, R-Gilbert, that the decision was based on legal reasoning and was “not a policy statement.”
The lawmakers said they would review the court's ruling and talk to their members and constituents to assess how the Legislature will respond.
Abe Hamadeh, the unsuccessful 2022 candidate for Arizona attorney general who has been endorsed by former President Donald Trump, said through a campaign spokesperson, Erica Knight, that the court accurately interpreted the law but he "hopes that state legislatures will pass a law that better represents the will of the people."
"I will not support federal funding for abortions nor a federal ban on abortion," Hamadeh wrote in a statement to The Republic. "I trust the people of Arizona will pass legislation either through the Legislature or at the ballot box that represents the will of the people."
Hamadeh previously has said the matter should be left to the states, consistent with Trump, who on Monday declined to back a nationwide ban on abortion that some in his party have called for.
Incumbent Rep. Debbie Lesko, R-Ariz., is not seeking reelection in the West Valley's 8th district but is running for a seat on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How the abortion decision is playing in race to replace Debbie Lesko