Arizona’s reliably pro-life status is getting whiplash this week thanks to its Democrat Governor’s efforts to legislate by an executive order.
Last week, as the nation prepared for the anniversary of the landmark opinion from the U.S. Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs worked to remake the state’s pro-life reputation and to reclaim her standing within the Arizona Democrat Party as a devoted champion of its platform.
First, Governor Hobbs held a Thursday press conference to announce her support for future passage of the Arizona Right to Contraception Act. The governor tweeted, “Reproductive freedoms are under threat. That’s why I was proud to join Rep. Athena Salman to announce my support for the Arizona Right to Contraception Act, which will ensure all Arizonans have the right to access birth control. I will never back down in the fight to protect our freedoms.”
Reproductive freedoms are under threat. That’s why I was proud to join Rep. @AthenaSalman to announce my support for the Arizona Right to Contraception Act, which will ensure all Arizonans have the right to access birth control. I will never back down in the fight to protect our… pic.twitter.com/5TuG6C2icG
— Governor Katie Hobbs (@GovernorHobbs) June 22, 2023
Representative Salman was thrilled with the governor’s endorsement of her legislation, writing, “Thank you Governor Hobbs for your leadership in protecting our reproductive rights and freedom. Birth control is a human right with overwhelming public support. The Arizona Right to Contraception Act will enshrine this right into law for every family in our state.”
Thank you Governor Hobbs for your leadership in protecting our reproductive rights and freedom!
Birth control is a human right with overwhelming public support. The Arizona Right to Contraception Act will enshrine this right into law for every family in our state. https://t.co/1QYdAQARXA
This bill is likely to languish in the Republican-led Legislature next session – as was indicated by the Speaker Pro Tempore for the Arizona House of Representatives, Travis Grantham, who tweeted, “Dead on Arrival.”
Hobbs saved her most noteworthy action for the end of the week, though, signing an executive order that would “centralize all abortion-related prosecutions under the Attorney General to ensure differences in application of the law by county attorneys do not restrict access to legal abortions.”
I signed an Executive Order protecting Arizonans’ reproductive freedom. I will not allow extreme and out of touch politicians to get in the way of the fundamental rights of Arizonans. My Executive Order does four things to the full extent of my authority: pic.twitter.com/2digbGB6EM
— Governor Katie Hobbs (@GovernorHobbs) June 23, 2023
Democrat Attorney General Kris Mayes cheered on this move by the governor, tweeting, “Together, Governor Hobbs and I will continue to do what the voters of Arizona elected us to do – fight like hell to protect the rights of Arizonans to make their own private medical decisions without interference.”
Together, @GovernorHobbs and I will continue to do what the voters of Arizona elected us to do — fight like hell to protect the rights of Arizonans to make their own private medical decisions without interference. https://t.co/U9bOaf8eFB
— AZ Attorney General Kris Mayes (@AZAGMayes) June 23, 2023
The governor’s order also “directed state agencies to not assist in any investigations relating to providing, assisting, seeking or obtaining reproductive health care that would be legal in Arizona; and established the Governor’s Advisory Council on Protecting Reproductive Freedom to make recommendations that expand access to reproductive healthcare in Arizona.” She also highlighted that “Arizona will decline extradition requests from other states seeking to prosecute individuals who provide, assist, seek or receive abortion services legal in Arizona.”
Republicans were quick to assail Hobbs’ order and highlight the potentially tenuous nature of this action. Arizona House Speaker Ben Toma told AZ Free News that “We are thoroughly reviewing the executive order to determine its legality. At a minimum, this order shows disrespect and contempt for the judiciary. Arizona’s abortion laws are still in litigation in light of the Supreme Court’s historic Dobbs ruling. The Governor cannot unilaterally divert statutory authority to prosecute criminal cases from Arizona’s 15 county attorneys to the Attorney General.”
Senate President Warren Petersen also weighed in on the governor’s order, telling AZ Free News: “Instead of focusing on pressing issues everyday Arizonans are struggling with, like inflation and the economy, Hobbs is setting a dangerous precedent by pulling a PR stunt to appeal to special interest groups and attempting to usurp law enforcement. In the end, this is another do-nothing executive order meant to pander to her liberal base and create unnecessary division on polarizing topics.”
Senator Jake Hoffman told AZ Free News that “This partisan PR stunt by Katie Hobbs is a gross, unconstitutional overreach intended to do nothing more than pander to her far-Left extremist base, and distract from her pathetic track record of failure, chaos, and instability. From getting rolled on the budget to historically high turnover of her senior staff, Hobbs continues to demonstrate how politically and intellectually weak she is with these halfcocked schemes that will never hold up in court.”
Freshman Republican Representative Cory McGarr tweeted, “The sitting governor does not have the authority to make law! Lawless tyrants and authoritarians abuse their power and abuse the people by stripping away their representation through the legislature. This can not stand.”
The sitting governor does not have the authority to make law!
Lawless tyrants and authoritarians abuse their power and abuse the people by stripping away their representation through the legislature. This can not stand. https://t.co/AXQsdk0uhT
Former Arizona Attorney General candidate Abe Hamadeh, who is still engaged in litigation over his historic, razor-thin defeat to Mayes last November, also condemned the governor’s order, saying, “Lawless government. The legislature makes laws, not the executive branch unilaterally.”
Lawless government. The legislature makes laws, not the executive branch unilaterally. https://t.co/874so8PpgT
In a press release, Cathi Herrod, President of the Center for Arizona Policy, pointed out that state law likely does not bestow the power that the governor took upon herself in this executive order. Herrod stated, “Arizona law, A.R.S. 41-101, Section 8 states that the governor ‘may require the attorney general to aid a county attorney in the discharge of his duties.’ Aid does not mean supplant or replace. In her zeal for abortion, Gov. Hobbs has exceeded her authority as governor. The law does not allow her to strip county attorneys of their clear enforcement authority as granted in various Arizona laws. On the anniversary of Dobbs, the better approach would be for Gov. Hobbs to fulfill her pledge to serve all Arizonans, starting with coming together to find ways to serve the needs of pregnant women.”
These actions from Hobbs may signal an abrupt end to Arizona’s standing as one of the most pro-life states in the nation, leaving behind a strong body of work from the state’s past two governors and attorneys general. After the Dobbs decision last year, then-Governor Doug Ducey posted, “I am proud that Arizona has been ranked the most pro-life state in the country. Here, we will continue to cherish life and protect it in every way possible.”
I am proud that Arizona has been ranked the most pro-life state in the country. Here, we will continue to cherish life and protect it in every way possible. 2/2
Former Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich was a staunch defender of life during his two terms in office. Most notably, Brnovich took his defense of SB 1457, which prohibited discriminatory abortions based on genetic abnormalities, to the U.S. Supreme Court. After the high court granted the Attorney General’s request to allow this law to go into effect in June 2022, Brnovich stated, “I am pleased with today’s ruling and proud to defend Arizona’s law that protects the unborn.”
BREAKING: The U.S. Supreme Court just vacated the injunction in Brnovich v. Isaacson. Arizona’s ban on discriminatory abortions is now in effect. pic.twitter.com/vAZD9iB1WS
Earlier this year, Republican leaders at the Arizona Legislature celebrated their “successful intervention(s) in cases to defend state laws and fight against federal overreach.” One of those cases was the SB 1457 (or Isaacson) litigation, where “a federal court granted Speaker Toma’s and President Petersen’s motion to intervene to defend a law that prohibits abortions based solely on a child’s genetic abnormality after Arizona Attorney General Mayes stated she would not defend the law.”
✅FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE✅
Arizona House of Representatives Celebrates Successful Intervention in Cases to Defend State Laws and Fight Against Federal Overreach.
Gov. Katie Hobbs exercised her executive authority to take the enforcement of abortion law into her own hands.
On Friday — almost one year to the day that the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade via Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization — Hobbs issued an executive order rescinding county attorneys’ authority to prosecute in abortion-related cases, instead granting sole authority to Attorney General Kris Mayes. In a statement, Hobbs characterized abortion as a “fundamental right.”
“I signed an Executive Order protecting Arizonans’ reproductive freedom,” said Hobbs. “I will not allow extreme and out of touch politicians to get in the way of the fundamental rights of Arizonans.”
I signed an Executive Order protecting Arizonans’ reproductive freedom. I will not allow extreme and out of touch politicians to get in the way of the fundamental rights of Arizonans. My Executive Order does four things to the full extent of my authority: pic.twitter.com/2digbGB6EM
— Governor Katie Hobbs (@GovernorHobbs) June 23, 2023
In addition to strengthening control over abortion prosecutions, Hobbs’ executive order directed state agencies to not assist in investigations relating to those who provide, assist, seek, or obtain abortions; banned compliance with other states’ extradition requests for those who provided, assisted, sought, or received an abortion where illegal; and established an advisory council to formulate strategy on expanding abortion access.
The executive order declared that abortion restrictions and bans were inimical to equity for those who get the most abortions: non-white, disabled, and poor individuals. The order also declared abortion as a form of freedom.
“[L]imitations on access to reproductive healthcare disproportionately impact people of color, people who live in rural and tribal communities, people with low incomes, and people with disabilities,” stated the order.
In addition to abortions, the Governor’s Advisory Council on Protecting Reproductive Freedom will be charged with expanding access and implementing equitable solutions concerning sexual and reproductive health care resources. Hobbs will appoint the council chair and members. The executive order noted that the council would “reflect the diversity” of Arizona to include indigenous, rural, and LGBTQ+ members.
Planned Parenthood, an abortion provider which also offers sexual and reproductive health care items, expanded their resources over the past year to include gender transition drugs like puberty blockers and hormone replacement therapy.
Pro-life groups challenged Hobbs’ statutory authority behind the executive order immediately.
In a press release, Center for Arizona Policy claimed that state law only allows for the attorney general to aid county attorneys in their duties — not replace them.
“Arizona law, A.R.S. 41-101, Section 8 states that the governor ‘may require the attorney general to aid a county attorney in the discharge of his duties.’ Aid does not mean supplant or replace. In her zeal for abortion, Gov. Hobs has exceeded her authority as governor,” stated Herrod. “The law does not allow her to strip county attorneys of their clear enforcement authority as granted in various Arizona laws.”
Hobbs preceded the executive order with an announcement of support for the Arizona Right to Contraception Act on Thursday.
Reproductive freedoms are under threat. That’s why I was proud to join Rep. @AthenaSalman to announce my support for the Arizona Right to Contraception Act, which will ensure all Arizonans have the right to access birth control. I will never back down in the fight to protect our… pic.twitter.com/5TuG6C2icG
— Governor Katie Hobbs (@GovernorHobbs) June 22, 2023
Arizona law currently bans abortion after 15 weeks’ gestation.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
What does abortion have to do with the transgender movement? Nothing. But leftist activists are trying to convince us that abortion includes so-called “gender-affirming care.” Planned Parenthood and others have been pushing the message over social media and elsewhere in an effort to get people used to the idea. Why? One reason is that Planned Parenthood admits it is the second largest provider of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones in the country. Read their own documentation here. And read these two reports that reveal the lucrative connection between the abortion giant and the transgender movement.
But it is also building their culture of death and destruction. I’m not saying they all see it that way, but pushing for abortion up to birth and the physical and psychological destruction of teens and even pre-teens in the name of “equality” is evil.
Polls show a large percentage of Americans do not support transitioning children with hormones or surgeries. So, leftists are hiding it in ballot measures and writing it into laws. In Ohio (potentially on the 2023 ballot) and Michigan (passed in 2022), the abortion ballot measures are so deceitfully written, it takes an attorney to figure out that both measures would allow abortion up to birth and include sex changes for children without parental consent. Read them here and here.
I will use italics below to indicate the language they use to underhandedly include sex changes, even for minors.
Ohio’s measure uses the term individual to covertly include children, and “reproductive decisions… not limited to … abortion” to covertly include sex-changes. If this was an abortion measure, it would just say that, and it wouldn’t include this kind of language that other states are defining as so-called “gender-affirming care” and courts will look to for direction.
Michigan’s constitutional amendment calls reproductive freedom a right and includes sterilization but is not limited to abortion. It, too, uses the term individual instead of woman or adult to ensure even children can get abortions or sex changes without parental consent.
Ohio’s and Michigan’s measures read a bit like Oregon’s proposed law and Colorado’s recently signed laws. Read here and here to see how the news media are using the Left’s language, and how the definition of reproductive freedom/decisions are being defined to include so-called “gender-affirming care.”
In very progressive states like New York, the abortion industry can get away with spelling it out in plain language, “… rights to an individual based on their ‘pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy.” It includes ethnicity, disability, age, and sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes, and reproductive healthcare and autonomy.” The key words here say it all and will be used to set a standard for defining “reproductive healthcare/freedom” or “reproductive decision” throughout the country.
Maryland, same thing. The measure uses “reproductive freedom” instead of abortion, not just to make it sound better to voters, but so they can include sex changes. It calls “reproductive freedom” a fundamental right and says that right includes ending a pregnancy but is not limited to abortion. It goes on to ensure individuals (not just adults) have a right to reproductive liberty. So, although Maryland didn’t write it out as blatantly as New York, the language it did use allows the same thing: abortion to birth and sex changes, even for children.
Also, in states that are moderate or conservative, the abortion industry includes a limitation to abortion, but then takes it all back with near universal exemptions. More on that below.
So, when you see “reproductive healthcare/freedom/liberty,” “autonomy,” “reproductive decisions,” or “not limited to…” think sex-change drugs and surgeries. Because that’s how the courts will read it.
If the language uses “individual” or “person,” think no age limit; it includes children at any age for both abortion and sex changes.
If the abortion language sets a limit at viability or some other gestational age, check the exceptions! These ballot measures include exceptions for the “health of the mother.” Courts have interpreted that phrase to include emotional or mental health, and thereby allow abortions at any stage if the woman simply feels distressed. This has always been understood to mean no limits up to birth if the woman wants it, and the abortionist (self-servingly) signs off.
It’s there, but it takes a skilled attorney to connect the dots. The abortion industry knows most Americans do not support sex-change surgeries in state law, especially for children. And most Americans also do not support abortion up to birth. The industry knows these facts—that is exactly why they use crafty language to hide such extreme policies under vague wording and then redefine that language elsewhere.
One more thing: They will always cloak the measure in the nicest title:
“The Right to Reproductive Freedom with Protections for Health and Safety”
“Equal Protection of Law Amendment”
“Right to Reproductive Freedom Amendment”
Cathi Herrod is the president of Center for Arizona Policy (CAP), a nonprofit advocacy organization committed to promoting and defending the foundational principles of life, marriage and family, and religious freedom.
Governor Hobbs has proposed a budget that is a radical’s dream. It increases funding for a laundry list of pet programs of the radical left, while at the same time cutting programs that are supported by the vast majority of Arizonans. The Hobbs budget expands funding for illegal immigrants and increases taxpayer funding of abortions. At the same time, Hobbs would kill the expansion of our popular parental school choice program and defund the Border Strike Force.
House Majority Leader Leo Biasiucci describes the Hobbs budget: “Attacking school choice, peddling state-funded abortions, and incentivizing illegal immigration in Arizona are all non-starters and, frankly, something you’d expect to see proposed by a politician in California, not Arizona.”
In response to Hobbs’ radical budget, Republicans passed a responsible, “baseline budget” which would continue state spending at last year’s budget levels, with adjustments to education and health care programs to account for inflation. When asked if Hobbs would reject the baseline budget Rep. Biasiucci responded, “If she does that, it’s party politics. This is everything we need to make sure that schools don’t shut down, make sure government stays open, make sure all our essential services stay open while we figure out what we need to do with the rest of the money.” Unfortunately, Hobbs vetoed the legislature’s reasonable budget. She is playing a game of chicken, threatening a government shutdown.
If Republicans stay united, the taxpayers will be protected from the free-spending Democrats. Given the one-vote margin in each house, we can’t afford to lose a single Republican vote. To protect us from Hobbs’ costly budget, it is essential that Republicans stick together.
I have heard disturbing reports that some Republicans are quietly signaling they are willing to cut a deal with the Democrats behind the backs of their leadership. That would severely weaken the bargaining position of Republicans as they negotiate for smaller government. More important, it would betray their constituents who voted for them based on their promises to limit the growth of state government.
Why on earth would Republicans be willing to cave to the Hobbs budget? There are a couple of possibilities. They could trade their votes for a pet project. Or they could be self-promoters with a messianic complex seeking acclaim from the liberal press as “rising above the partisan bickering.”
Believe it or not, it could happen here in Arizona. Around the country and in Congress, turncoat Republicans have made side deals to expand government spending. And though it seems odd, these quislings frequently represent “safe” Republican districts. Senator Romney comes to mind, and he is not alone.
In California, back when Jerry Brown was governor, a Republican representing the most Republican district in the state voted for the bloated budget after she had promised to oppose it. When asked why she flipped, she blithely replied that she got a new library for UC Irvine. Another Republican sold out for even less—Willie Brown promised him an office with a wet bar in it. Judas at least got thirty pieces of silver. As sure as night follows day, the press heaped praise on both of them for their “courage” in avoiding a budget impasse. But in truth, they voted against the interests of their constituents.
To avoid such a betrayal from happening here in Arizona, conservatives must press their representatives for a firm commitment that they won’t cut a side deal on the budget. We must lock in those commitments now and shut down any side deals before negotiations start in earnest.
My State Senator is Ken Bennett, and my representatives are Quang Nguyen and Selena Bliss. LD 1 is the most Republican district in the state. Conservatives shouldn’t have to worry about them keeping faith with their promises to the voters, but as President Reagan told us, “Trust but verify.”
Therefore, I am asking all three for a firm commitment that they will only vote for a budget that is supported by the rest of their Republican colleagues. The great conservative Senator Everett Dirksen famously said, “When I fell the heat, I see the light.” And I hope conservatives in all Republican districts will turn up the heat, so Republicans stay united to protect the wallets of the taxpayers.
Otherwise, it will be every legislator for themselves, and they’ll cut the hog fat. And we the taxpayers will be the hog.
Pat Nolan is the Director Emeritus of the Nolan Center for Justice at the American Conservative Union, and lives in Prescott.
For a number of years, the Grand Canyon State has been home to some of the most pro-life and pro-family lawmakers, officials, and advocates in the nation, giving Arizona a superior reputation for protecting life and parental rights. Even with a drastic change in values from the state’s new governor, some legislators are still seeking to augment their state’s pro-life standing.
Senator Jake Hoffman introduced SB 1146, which “requires the State Board of Investment to identify U.S. companies that donate to or invest in organizations that promote, facilitate or advocate for abortions for minors or for the inclusion of, or the referral of students to, sexually explicit material in grades K-12,” according to the purpose of the bill provided by the Arizona Senate. Hoffman’s legislation would require “the State Treasurer to divest from the identified companies.”
SB 1146 has eleven co-sponsors: two in the Senate (Senators Anthony Kern and Justine Wadsack), and nine in the House (Representatives Joseph Chaplik, Justin Heap, Rachel Jones, Alex Kolodin, Cory McGarr, Barbara Parker, Jacqueline Parker, Beverly Pingerelli, and Austin Smith). Earlier this month, it passed out of the Senate Finance Committee, chaired by J.D. Mesnard, with a party-line 4-3 vote. Senators Mesnard, Steve Kaiser (Vice Chairman), Janae Shamp, and David Gowan voted to approve the bill; while Senators Lela Alston, Brian Fernandez and Mitzi Epstein voted to oppose.
In an exclusive interview with AZ Free News on why he sponsored this bill, Senator Jake Hoffman said, “There is no excuse for Arizona taxpayer resources being used to prop up woke corporate oligarchs that are funneling their profits into far-left extremists groups working to undermine our state’s pro-life and pro-family policies. We are in a war for the minds and souls of our future generations, and we should not sit idly by while the ruling class ‘elites’ force feed them a radical agenda that is antithetical to the values of the majority of Arizonans.”
Democrat Senator Mitzi Epstein strongly disagrees with this legislation, saying, “It would violate people’s First Amendments; their various rights to have an abortion, which is legal in Arizona or their various rights to learn about things from places that provide those materials. The Senate Democrat Caucus also warned about this bill before the Finance Committee took it under consideration this week, tweeting, “SB 1146 interjects politics into our money management where there is currently no problem. Further demonizing age-appropriate sex education and abortion care is not popular policy. We cannot afford more Republicans games.”
Should this bill pass both chambers of the Arizona Legislature, it would likely find an open door on the Ninth Floor for an expedient veto from Governor Hobbs, who made abortion rights one of the themes of her State of the State address to the Legislature in January.
Daniel Stefanski is a reporter for AZ Free News. You can send him news tips using this link.
