A House GOP presentation accidentally sent to all House members Monday morning outlines a potential strategy of Republicans considering abortion ballot measures to conflict with the initiative being pushed by abortion access activists.
House Majority General Counsel Linley Wilson drafted a PowerPoint presentation for Republican House members following Rep. Matt Gress, R-Phoenix, attempting to put a bill that would repeal the 1864 abortion ban law up for a vote on April 10.
Wilson’s strategy lists two phases for House Republicans to consider. The first and phase would refer “reasonable protections” to voters while protecting the Legislature’s authority to “enact laws rationally related to promoting and preserving life and to protecting the health and safety of pregnant women” through a concurrent resolution.
The proposed language of the resolution doesn’t include a cutoff for when abortions would be permitted, but it does give the legislature the flexibility to enact laws on the issue.
Potential titles for the act Wilson suggested are “Protecting Pregnant Women and Safe Abortions Act,” “Arizona Abortion and Reproductive Care Act,” or “Arizona Abortion Protection Act.”
Wilson wrote in her presentation that there’s a need among Republicans to give voters something other than the “extreme abortion-on-demand” that the Arizona Abortion Access initiative. Her proposed language doesn’t create a right to abortion, instead it codifies “widely supported” protections and restrictions on abortion including outlawing partial-birth and discriminatory abortions.
The Arizona Abortion Access initiative is being pushed by organizations including the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona and many Democratic lawmakers.
Organizers of the initiative say they have enough signatures to qualify for the November ballot. The proposed measure would establish abortion as a constitutional right, allowing abortions up until fetal viability, or about the 24th week of pregnancy.
The initiatives’ language also lists an exception to fetal viability if a health care professional determines an abortion is necessary to “protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant individual.”
Speaker of the House Ben Toma, R-Peoria, said on April 10 he didn’t think the language of the initiative would limit abortions up to 24 weeks.
“The reality of it is that it would allow abortion to the point of birth and even partial birth abortions, which is ridiculous and unconscionable, and it needs to be called out for what it is,” Toma said.
A second phase Republicans are considering is to send voters two other ballot measures that would conflict with the proposed Arizona Abortion Access initiative: A “15-week Reproductive Care and Abortion Act” and a “Heartbeat Protection Act.”
Wilson noted in her presentation that the 15-week ban act would work as a 14-week ban practically because it permits abortions up until the beginning of the 15th week of pregnancy.
“In reality, it’s a 14-week law disguised as a 15-week law,” Wilson wrote.
The proposed heartbeat protection act would allow abortions up until the sixth week of pregnancy begins, unless it is medically necessary to save the life of the woman, prevent serious risk of substantial and irreversible bodily harm, or if the fetus has a fatal abnormality.
Wilson wrote in her presentation that the second phase isn’t as preferable for Republicans because it transfers regulation of abortion from the Legislature to voters while setting an arbitrary number of weeks for abortion care in the state Constitution.
The goal would be to pull votes away from the Arizona Abortion Access initiative by strategically having voters read the Legislature’s referral first on their ballots while putting Democrats in a “defensive position to argue against partial birth abortions, discriminatory abortions, and other basic protection.”
“Changes narrative – Republicans have a plan! And it’s much more reasonable than the AAA Initiative,” Wilson wrote in her presentation.
Her email that was distributed to all House members notes that plans are preliminary, informing House Republicans not to share it outside of the GOP caucus.
House Minority Whip Rep. Nancy Gutierrez, D-Tucson, the Legislature needs to pass “a clean repeal of the cruel 1864 ban on abortion as soon as possible.”
“Republicans are playing politics with peoples’ lives and are desperate to muddy the water, confuse the issue, spread misinformation and change the narrative,” Gutierrez said in a written statement Monday. “In reality implementing this archaic ban was the result they argued for in court. We hope that enough members of their caucus will vote to save lives and pass a straight repeal.”
Toma said last week that the straight repeal that Gress and Democrats pushed for was something he couldn’t support personally.
“The document presents ideas drafted for internal discussion and consideration within the caucus. I’ve publicly stated that we are looking at options to address this subject, and this is simply part of that,” Toma said in a written statement on Wilson’s PowerPoint Monday.
