Politicians could be cowards under Roe v. Wade. Arizona's abortion ban changes that

When the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the legislative battles breaking out at our state Capitol and others across the country were inevitable.

In his majority opinion, Justice Samuel Alito promised as much.

“Our decision returns the issue of abortion to those legislative bodies,” he wrote, “and it allows women on both sides of the abortion issue to seek to affect the legislative process by influencing public opinion, lobbying legislators, voting, and running for office.”

Their decision didn’t ban abortion; rather, it let the people decide the issue. That’s how the Constitution was written. It’s how democracy is supposed to work.

And democracy is often a messy business.

Arizona Supreme Court punted to lawmakers

Following Alito’s lead, the Arizona Supreme Court also passed the decision to the people and their elected representatives. They ruled that a dusty, old territorial law was still valid and would remain so unless the Legislature changed it.

Many politicians in both parties are eager to do just that.

Phoenix Republican Rep. Matt Gress tried on Wednesday to initiate a vote to reject the Civil War-era law. He was stopped by fellow Republican Rep. David Livingston of Peoria, who motioned for a recess.

Democrats erupted in fury, bizarrely condemning Gress more than Livingston, despite him supporting their view on the issue.

The whole event was loud, angry and chaotic — a messy business indeed. But again, that’s how democracy is supposed to work.

Abortion pushed Republicans on their heels

It doesn’t take a complete cynic to find Democrats’ outrage as rather performative. With an election just seven months away, the state Supreme Court’s ruling has pushed Republicans back on their heels.

From Kari Lake to Doug Ducey to Donald Trump, many GOP leaders have condemned the territorial law as outdated and extreme, while others in the party’s base cheer it on. They know the issue divides their party while it consolidates Democratic prospects in November.

When the House decided to adjourn until April 17, despite Gress’s efforts, Democrats were gifted another week-plus to paint the opposing party as out-of-touch with voters.

Lawmakers most likely to be booted: Over abortion ban

According to a 2022 Associated Press poll, just 6% of Arizona voters said abortion should be illegal in all cases, while 61% prefer abortion be legal in most or all cases.

It will take several weeks for the territorial law to take effect, so there’s still time to repeal it before it does. According to a statement released by Gress on Wednesday, he’s confident the Legislature will do just that.

“This vote on repealing the Territorial Law is one where we should be able to find common ground, and to do what’s right for the people we were elected to serve — to empower women, to protect new life, to move past the division,” Gress said.

Every senator, representative must vote now

Meanwhile, Democrats will cheerfully stoke the division to register new voters and raise more funds. No one can blame them for that.

As Alito wrote of that fateful decision two years ago, “It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”

The chaos we’re seeing in the statehouse today is what that looks like.

The old Roe v. Wade order allowed politicians to be cowards. They could talk tough on abortion while hiding behind justices’ robes when voters asked them to back up their rhetoric.

Those days are gone. Every state senator and representative now needs to put their vote where their mouth is.

Do they support a total abortion ban, a 15-week ban, or no bans at all?

No doubt, this makes many of them uncomfortable. Oh well. That’s the job they signed up for.

Jon Gabriel, a Mesa resident, is editor-in-chief of Ricochet.com and a contributor to The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. On X, formerly Twitter: @exjon.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona can't hide behind Roe v. Wade. Its abortion ban forces action