The Screwtape Letters is a satirical novel written by C.S. Lewis in which a senior demon advises his nephew on how to lead humans astray. It exposes moral issues by presenting them from evil’s perspective. It made me think about how Uncle Screwtape would react to some of Arizona’s pro-life laws.
My Dear Wormwood,
You are to be congratulated. The filing of Isaacson v. Mayes is shaping up to be one of our most exquisite triumphs.
Our legal allies are moving swiftly now, carving through the last scraps of pro-life resistance like a scalpel through soft tissue. At the top of our target list is that revolting statute, ARS 13-3603.02 — the one that dares to prohibit abortions based on race, sex, or disability. How dare they presume to protect the weak, the imperfect, the unwanted? That law, Wormwood, is an affront to everything we’ve worked for. A child has Down syndrome? Terminate. It’s a girl? Dispose. The father is the wrong skin color? Eliminate. This is not discrimination — it is efficiency. And we must preserve that efficiency at all costs.
One of our most brilliant human thinkers once said,“The demand that defective people be prevented from propagating equally defective offspring is a demand of the clearest reason and if systematically executed represents the most humane act of mankind.”Ah, Hitler — rarely quoted these days, but his reasoning lives on, albeit in more “palatable” packaging.
Even worse, their laws force abortionists to speak truth — to describe fetal development, risks, alternatives, and the heartbeat pulsing inside the mother’s womb. You know how dangerous truth is, Wormwood. A heartbeat can unsettle even the most hardened conscience. The shape of a tiny hand on an ultrasound has undone entire years of our work. We must strip these laws bare. Truth is the Enemy’s weapon. Silence is ours.
They call it “healthcare” — but we know it’s the slow death of conscience.Strip away protections for the preborn, and soon they’ll stop seeing humanity in the elderly, the disabled, the inconvenient. It’s a spectacular unraveling.
Expect a few murmurs — rallies, opinion pieces, even prayers (tedious, as always). But most will hold their tongues. Remind them it’s impolite to bring up such “divisive” topics. Tell them it’s not their place, that moral clarity is rude, and silence is virtuous. Make them believe that speaking truth is worse than allowing evil to proceed. That, Wormwood, is how we keep them docile.
Meanwhile, our friends in the abortion clinics are prepared. Every life ended is another efficient procedure, another soul fed to the furnace. And Arizona — scorched and sleepy — drifts closer to surrender.
Carry on. The womb is nearly ours.
Your devoted uncle, Screwtape
Katarina White serves as Board Member for Arizona Right to Life. To get involved and stay informed, visit the Arizona Right to Life website.
Before Arizona voters passed a constitutional amendment in 2024 to legalize abortion up until birth, the state’s abortion laws still had some guardrails in place—things like parental consent, waiting periods, and informed consent. But even with those protections, the 2023 Abortion Report shows how far the abortion industry had already entrenched itself in our state.
In 2023 alone, 12,705 surgical abortions were performed across seven reported facilities in Arizona. This number does not include chemical abortions, which are increasingly common and more difficult to track in detail.
Two Planned Parenthood facilities—in Tempe and Flagstaff—do not appear in the report because they were not fully operational in 2023 and did not perform surgical abortions. However, both clinics are now fully open and positioned to expand services under Arizona’s new constitutional amendment declaring abortion a “fundamental right.”
These facilities weren’t included in the 2023 data—but they will be moving forward. And with surgical and chemical abortions alike being completely accessible, the number of lives lost will certainly rise.
These aren’t just statistics. These are real buildings where children lost their lives—some within walking distance of the State Capitol.
Here are the seven facilities listed in the 2023 report:
Camelback Family Planning – 4,295 abortions 4141 N 32nd St. STE 105, Phoenix, AZ 85018 – 5.84 miles from the Arizona State Capitol
Family Planning Associated Medical Group – 2,644 abortions 1331 N 7th St. Unit 225, Phoenix, AZ 85006 – 2.17 miles
Acacia Women’s Center – 2,355 abortions 2023 W Bethany Home Rd, Phoenix, AZ 85015 – 5.12 miles
Choices Women’s Center – 1,148 abortions 5240 E Knight Dr, #112, Tucson, AZ 85712 – 108.26 miles
Planned Parenthood Glendale Health Center – 1,422 abortions 5771 W Eugle Ave, Glendale, AZ 85304 – 10.38 miles
Planned Parenthood Southern Arizona Regional Health Center – 552 abortions 2255 N Wyatt Dr, Tucson, AZ 85712 – 108.71 miles
Desert Star Family Planning, LLC – 264 abortions 5501 N 19th Ave #420, Phoenix, AZ 85015 – 4.74 miles
And here are the two locations not included in the 2023 report—but now fully operational and likely to contribute to higher abortion totals in future reports:
Planned Parenthood – Flagstaff 2500 S Woodlands Village Blvd, Suite 12, Flagstaff, AZ 86001 – 149.3 miles
Planned Parenthood – Tempe 1837 E Baseline Rd, Tempe, AZ 85283 – 13.1 miles
In 2023, Arizona recorded 77,881 live births. But alongside that hope, 12,705 babies were surgically aborted—and that’s just what we can confirm. That means over 14% of pregnancies in Arizona ended in death rather than life. With new clinics now open and constitutional protections in place, there is every reason to believe that number will rise sharply in 2025 and beyond.
Let’s be clear—this is not about “empowering women.” The abortion industry has stalked poor and minority communities for decades, flooding their neighborhoods with clinics and pushing abortion as a solution to poverty. They’ve told vulnerable women that ending the life of their own child is liberation. They’ve called this “healthcare.” They’ve called it “compassion.”
It’s none of those things.
They don’t offer housing. They don’t offer prenatal support. They don’t offer stability or hope. They offer a suction machine and a billing invoice—and they call that freedom.
Friedrich Nietzsche warned of what happens when societies lose their moral clarity:
“There is a point in the history of society when it becomes so pathologically soft and tender that among other things it sides even with those who harm it, criminals, and does this quite seriously and honestly.”
That is precisely what we are witnessing now. Arizona didn’t become more just when it added abortion to the Constitution. It became more dangerous, more dishonest. It wrapped violence in the language of rights and stripped away the last legal defenses for the most defenseless people among us.
This is not progress. This is exploitation—and it’s protected now by law.
The abortion industry and its political allies think the people of Arizona will look the other way. That we’ll adjust. That we’ll stop being horrified. But we won’t. We will keep pointing out the numbers. We will keep naming the buildings. We will keep exposing the lies.
And we will not stop until the killing ends—and Arizona remembers what it means to protect life.
Katarina White serves as Board Member for Arizona Right to Life. To get involved and stay informed, visit the Arizona Right to Life website.
Arizona’s 2023 Abortion Report, released late last month, uncovers a dark truth: abortion in our state disproportionately targets minority communities. The data reveals that Hispanic and Black women are overrepresented in the number of abortions performed, far exceeding their share of Arizona’s population.
According to the report, Hispanic people accounted for 47% of all surgical abortions in 2023, while U.S. Census data shows they make up only 32% of the state’s population. Black people represented 11% of surgical abortions despite only being 6% of the population. Meanwhile, white people, who make up 53% of Arizona’s population, accounted for 30% of surgical abortions. These numbers reflect a decade-long trend: Hispanic and Black women consistently make up a higher percentage of abortions than their population percentages would suggest. This raises serious concerns about whether the abortion industry is disproportionately targeting minority communities.
The numbers aren’t just statistics. They tell a story of communities being disproportionately affected by abortion. Historically, the abortion industry has faced criticism for its roots in eugenics and its targeting of minority neighborhoods. Arizona law (ARS 13-3603.02) prohibits abortions based on race or sex, but these statistics make it clear that the impact of abortion on minorities remains profoundly unequal. This is not freedom of choice—it’s exploitation.
The sheer volume of abortions performed is heartbreaking. In 2023, Arizona celebrated 77,881 live births. At the same time, 12,705 babies were surgically aborted, not including chemical abortions. This means 14% of the babies who should have been part of our communities last year never had the chance to live. That’s not just a statistic; it’s a profound loss of human potential and a tragic reminder of the lives slaughtered by abortion.
Adding to this tragedy, Governor Katie Hobbs has called for an end to the Arizona Abortion Report, calling it “an attack on our freedom” and claiming it should not exist. But this report is not about attacking freedom—it’s about transparency and accountability. Eliminating it would obscure the truth, making it harder to see how abortion disproportionately impacts minority communities in our state.
The abortion industry’s targeting of Hispanic and Black women is not an accident—it’s a calculated strategy rooted in exploitation and profit. The 2023 Abortion Report doesn’t just expose chilling statistics; it exposes a system that sacrifices the most vulnerable—both mothers and their unborn children—for financial gain. This isn’t freedom, and it isn’t healthcare. It’s a disturbing reminder that the abortion industry thrives by exploiting the very communities it claims to serve. How much longer will we allow this silent genocide to continue before we confront the racism at its core?
Katarina White serves as Board Member for Arizona Right to Life. To get involved and stay informed, visit the Arizona Right to Life website.
The Arizona Abortion Access Campaign has engaged in a widespread misinformation campaign, suggesting that if Proposition 139 fails, women in Arizona could lose access to vital miscarriage care. Nothing could be further from the truth. Current Arizona law already makes clear distinctions between abortion procedures and care for miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies, as outlined in ARS 36-2151.
According to the law, miscarriage management is not considered an abortion. ARS 36-2151 specifically excludes from the definition of abortion any procedures used to “terminate an ectopic pregnancy or to remove a dead fetus.” Dr. Anthony Levatino, a practicing OB-GYN and attorney, explains this distinction: “Miscarriage care is protected as it is explicitly excluded from the definition of abortion; abortion does not include birth control devices to terminate an ectopic pregnancy or to remove a dead fetus.’”
In light of these misrepresentations, Arizona Right to Life and the It Goes Too Far Campaign held a joint press conference to highlight the myths versus truths embedded within the language of Prop 139. Several medical doctors addressed the confusion stirred by the Arizona Abortion Access Campaign, clarifying that Arizona’s current laws ensure women will continue to receive necessary and compassionate care for miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy—care that is already protected and is unaffected by whether Prop 139 passes or fails.
While some in the abortion lobby have attempted to blur these distinctions, our laws are clear. The current statutes guarantee that women experiencing miscarriage or ectopic pregnancy will have access to the appropriate medical treatments, regardless of the fate of Prop 139. The push for Prop 139 is less about women’s health and more about expanding abortion access through all nine months, using fear and misleading information to drive support.
In voting on Proposition 139, Arizonans should see past the Arizona Abortion Access Campaign’s expensive attempts to mislead voters. With millions of dollars poured into a campaign designed to blur the truth, it’s clear their goal is not to protect women’s health, but to open the door to a broader revenue stream. Current Arizona law already safeguards critical medical care for miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies. This push for Prop 139 is simply a gateway to unrestricted abortion access, using fear to pave the way. Arizona voters deserve the truth—not a profit-driven agenda.
Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes has set her sights on Pregnancy Resource Centers (PRCs), launching an unfounded consumer fraud report against these life-saving organizations. It’s one thing to disagree politically, but when someone in a position of power like Mayes starts deliberately targeting groups whose mission is to protect life, it raises serious concerns. What kind of message is being sent when the state’s top law enforcement officer chooses to weaponize her office against organizations that offer free services and support to women in crisis?
Mayes’ consumer fraud report absurdly claims that PRCs “ALMOST NEVER SAY ON THEIR WEBSITES THAT THEY DO NOT PROVIDE ABORTION CARE OR REFERRALS.” This is not only misleading but entirely illogical. Expecting a Pregnancy Resource Center to advertise that they don’t offer abortion services is the same as demanding that a dentist disclose they don’t provide chiropractic care. It’s a manufactured issue designed to discredit these centers, and it’s terrifying that such a tactic is being employed by someone with such power and influence.
To make matters worse, this aggressive stance could pave the way for even more dangerous outcomes if Proposition 139 passes. Prop 139, which seeks to enshrine abortion as a constitutional right in Arizona, would only strengthen the hands of those, like Mayes, who are intent on dismantling any organization that dares to stand up for the lives of unborn human beings. If passed, this amendment would not only make abortion legal up until birth, but also makes it even harder for PRCs to operate without fear of government interference or harassment. The attack on PRCs that we’re seeing now would be just the beginning.
Consider the work being done by the Aid to Women Center. This incredible facility offers a range of services from free pregnancy tests to parenting classes, helping women navigate unplanned pregnancies with care, compassion, and real solutions. Yet, in Mayes’ world, because they don’t provide abortions, they’re somehow guilty of fraud. The real fraud here is the notion that abortion is “healthcare.” Abortion dismembers life—PRCs like Aid to Women Center work to protect and preserve it.
Mayes’ attack on PRCs is not about transparency—it’s about silencing those who stand for life. If Proposition 139 is passed, it will only embolden those who want to shut down PRCs, making it harder for women to find the real reproductive care they need. Pregnancy Resource Centers do not need to apologize for their mission to protect the most vulnerable among us. Instead of demonizing these centers, our attorney general should be lifting them up as the real champions of women’s health.
Katarina White serves as Board Member for Arizona Right to Life. To get involved and stay informed, visit the Arizona Right to Life website.
