by Matthew Holloway | Jan 28, 2025 | News
By Matthew Holloway |
The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act or H.R. 21 passed the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives last week in a party line vote. The Republican delegation of Arizona voted unanimously in favor of the bill.
Two of the three Arizona Democrats in Congress voted against it, with Rep. Raúl Grijalva not voting.
The passage of the bill was hailed by both Congressional Arizona Republicans and the Trump administration. Congressman Andy Biggs, who recently announced his intent to run for Governor of Arizona, wrote in a post to X, “204 Democrats refuse to protect babies who survive an attempted murder. Republicans are pro-life, pro-woman, and pro-family.”
Congressman Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ-08) issued a statement via X saying, “The Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act is a bill that supports basic human rights and the opposition of such is the support of murder. If a child survives an abortion and is denied life-saving care, they are being denied the same protection and medical care that any other newborn baby is afforded. As several of my colleagues noted today, this bill is not about abortion. This bill is about living breathing babies. Today, I voted to pass this common sense legislation to correct this egregious humanitarian crisis.”
The White House released a statement following the bill’s passage, noting its concurrence with President Trump’s Executive Order of September 25, 2020, which stated that the policy of the United States is “to recognize the human dignity and inherent worth of every newborn or other infant child, regardless of prematurity or disability, and to ensure for each child due protection under the law.”
The White House concluded “A baby that survives an abortion and is born alive into this world should be treated just like any other baby born alive. H.R. 21 would properly amend current law to ensure that the life of one baby is not treated as being more or less valuable than another. If H.R. 21 were presented to the President in its current form, his advisors would recommend he sign it into law.” Despite the advancement of the House measure, the Senate Version of the bill was stalled when a key motion to invoke cloture, ending debate, failed. Although the GOP controls the Senate as well with 53 votes, a majority of 60 is needed to invoke cloture, requiring bipartisan support.
The push to pass the bill through both Houses of Congress was timed to coincide with the March for Life on Friday in Washington, D.C., and the 52nd anniversary of the Roe v. Wade ruling.
Matthew Holloway is a senior reporter for AZ Free News. Follow him on X for his latest stories, or email tips to Matthew@azfreenews.com.
by Corinne Murdock | Jan 25, 2023 | News
By Corinne Murdock |
Former Arizona Senate President Karen Fann said Rep. Ruben Gallego’s (D-AZ-03) support for abortion was a crime.
Gallego lamented that Arizona could limit abortions on Monday, which marked 50 years since the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court (SCOTUS) decision legalizing abortion.
“Today, we should have been celebrating the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade. Instead, extremist officials ripped away the right to choose, leaving women in Arizona and too many other states without basic reproductive freedom,” wrote Gallego. “But make no mistake: this fight isn’t over.”
SCOTUS determined that the Roe v. Wade decision invented a constitutional right based on the “right to privacy”: a legal theory created by the late SCOTUS Justice Louis Brandeis in the 1890s. Brandeis’ invention informed the landmark decision Griswold v. Connecticut, the precursor to Roe v. Wade.
The state currently has a ban on abortions after 15 weeks’ gestation in place, enacted last year. The Arizona Court of Appeals ruled last month that the state may not prosecute doctors under the pre-statehood ban on abortion. However, the court didn’t repeal the law. Instead, the appeals court clarified that the later laws, including the 15-week ban enacted last year, were the standard to follow.
State abortion laws also limit abortion access in other ways. Telemedicine health care may not be used to obtain abortion pills. However, the state doesn’t have bans on funding travel and procedure costs for women obtaining abortions outside the state past the 15-week period.
The SCOTUS decision overturning Roe v. Wade was leaked early last May. SCOTUS announced last week in a 20-page report that they were unable to identify the source of the leak. Politico published the draft opinion; it appears they’re unwilling to reveal their source.
Gov. Katie Hobbs, at the time the Secretary of State, responded to the draft leak last year with an expletive railing against those she perceived to be ruling the state.
“F**k the patriarchy,” tweeted Hobbs.
The draft leak incited mass protests and riots at the Arizona Capitol and nationwide. An activist group with the University of Arizona (UArizona) and Planned Parenthood ties petitioned to make abortion a constitutional right in the state — an effort which ultimately failed.
In a Sunday statement, President Joe Biden called on Congress to codify the legalization of abortion. Biden characterized abortion as a “constitutional right.” The president also promised a Presidential Memorandum ensuring a right to abortive medications, which Vice President Kamala Harris announced during a visit to Florida. Ahead of the announcement, Harris declared that those opposed to abortion were “extremist,” and in violation of women’s constitutional and reproductive rights.
“We are looking at a situation where extremist so-called leaders in states around our country are depriving women of the right to have access to reproductive health care,” stated Harris.
Corinne Murdock is a reporter for AZ Free News. Follow her latest on Twitter, or email tips to corinne@azfreenews.com.
