PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) – Democratic candidate for Governor Katie Hobbs and Democratic candidate for Attorney General Kris Mayes held a joint press conference Saturday morning to address the Pima County Superior Court’s decision to uphold a total abortion ban.
“Women’s rights are not a bargaining chip,” Hobbs said. “So what my focus is going to be on day one is repeal this 1901 law…The reality is that there’s no abortion access today. If the 1901 law is repealed, the 15-week ban is what’s on the books.” Hobbs said that she believes it is a woman’s right to have access to safe, legal abortion.
“When I’m Attorney General, we will not enforce any of the abortion bans that exist in Arizona,” Mayes said. “As we know, none of these laws have exceptions for rape or incest. So apparently, it’s okay by our Republican opponents that a woman who is raped in the state of Arizona would be forced to carry that to term. That is not acceptable.”
Mayes added that she believes the law violates the Arizona Constitution and that if she has to trigger the supervisory authority that the Attorney General has over the county attorneys. “I will advise all county attorneys that these laws are unconstitutional,” she said. “We will fight and fight and fight in the courts for the rights of women to access reproductive care and abortion in this state. We will use every legal means available.”
In a statement released after the presser, Katie Hobbs said, “Kari Lake’s support of this ban and her support for additional restrictions on reproductive care prove that if elected governor, she will continue to put our health and freedoms on the line. We cannot let her hold public office and have the power to enact the extreme, anti-choice policies that she’s spent her entire campaign touting.”
The statement called Lake’s abortion stance an “extreme agenda to resist reproductive healthcare” and referenced the candidate’s past comments about abortion:
Hobbs’ campaign website features a website section entitled “Bans Off Arizona” that delineates her plan to protect reproductive and abortion services in Arizona. In a statement on the page, Hobbs said, “Let me be clear — the decision to have a child should rest solely between a woman and her doctor, not the government or politicians.”
Mayes has been outspoken on her positions regarding abortion legislation in Arizona, having previously promised that she will not prosecute a woman, doctor, or any other medical professional for providing or receiving reproductive and abortion services. She also has a 12-Point plan to protect women’s healthcare included in her other campaign promises.
On Friday, a Pima County judge ruled to lift a 1973 court injunction against an Arizona abortion ban, reinstating the pre-statehood law, sparking the presser held on Saturday. The ruling will keep the territorial-area law banning abortion in place, with the exception of the life of the mother, but not in cases of rape or incest. This decision mandates two to five years in prison for any healthcare provider who performs an abortion. Legal experts are already anticipating an appeal.
Arizona’s Family has reached out to Republican candidate for Attorney General Abraham Hamadeh’s and Republican candidate for Governor Kari Lake’s campaigns for comment.
Copyright 2022 KTVK/KPHO. All rights reserved.
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism