In a recent discussion on MSNBC with the network’s Jen Psaki, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) warned that “women could die” as a result of destructive developments tracing to Donald Trump.
Kelly was specifically condemning the top state court in Arizona recently ruling in favor of an old (meaning mid-19th century-old) abortion ban as the country continues grappling on a roughly state-by-state basis with the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade. The decision in that case provided legal protections for abortion for decades, and its undoing has allowed state figures to move forward anew with increasingly sharp restrictions sometimes even blocking abortions in cases of rape and incest.
“It’s one of the worst things, I think, that’s happened in the state of Arizona since I’ve been in office, certainly. And it’s all because of the former president. We have an opportunity to fix this in November, but my biggest concern is what happens to women in Arizona between now and the election. Women could die because of what the former president did by getting rid of Roe v. Wade. […] He’s taken responsibility” for the U.S. Supreme Court reversing that decades-old decision, Kelly said.
The court undertook that move with three nominees from Trump on the bench among just nine members, and yes, Trump’s picks were all in favor of reversal. Trump, though he now claims to favor deferring to states’ rights on the abortion question rather than nationally limiting abortion like many conservatives would prefer, expresses pride in the developments.
While Republicans in state power began pursuing their restrictive visions following the Supreme Court’s decision, Democrats in state roles — and voters in many jurisdictions — have also pursued protections. States literally from coast to coast have advanced state Constitutional amendments protecting abortion, and many authorities in such locales have explicitly established that they’ll not be cooperating with out-of-state investigations into obtaining an abortion and related care.
