Gov. Ducey Among 12 GOP Governors Who Want U.S. Supreme Court To Overturn Roe V. Wade
Gov. Doug Ducey wants the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn it's historic decision in Roe v. Wade and leave the question of whether to allow abortion in Arizona, and elsewhere, to state lawmakers.
Ducey is among 12 GOP governors who filed a brief Thursday with the nation's high court in support of a Mississippi law that bans abortion after the 15th week. Enforcement of that law has been blocked by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Democratic Rep. Athena Salman says abortion is a constitutional and national right — and called Ducey's legal efforts "patronizing, sexist and extreme.''
“It is fundamentally wrong for your zip code to determine whether or not you can have access to a safe, regulated form of health care and abortion, versus having to go to a back alley or having to go to unregulated practice," Salman said.
If Roe v. Wade were to be overturned, it’s possible that abortion could become immediately illegal in Arizona because state legislators never repealed many of the laws that predated the 1973 ruling.
Whitney Walker, a vice president of Planned Parenthood Arizona, questioned Ducey's desire to get involved in the issue.
"Instead of focusing on the rising COVID-19 case numbers or educating the public to get vaccinated, Gov. Ducey is concerned with denying access to essential health care to the state’s residents, all in the middle of a global pandemic,'' she said in a prepared statement. "Ducey needs to stop playing politics and start doing what is right for Arizona.''
