Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) praised former President Donald Trump and the GOP for their efforts to overturn Roe v. Wade, leaving the abortion issue to the states amid the recent Arizona Supreme Court’s decision upholding a Civil War era abortion ban.
When asked about her view on the Arizona ban on almost all abortions in the state during her interview with Fox Business on April 10, Ms. Ernst reaffirmed her pro-life position. She said Republicans worked hard to send back the issue to individual states to decide.
“I am a mom. I am a brand-new grandma, and I support life. And Senate Republicans, the GOP, and President Trump really worked hard to overturn Roe v. Wade,” Ms. Ernst replied.
“So we returned that back to the states. That is the law of the land with that Supreme Court decision, so the states are handling that. But again, we worked very hard to get this result. Now, the states will take that up,” she said.
The pre-statehood law now supersedes a law signed by then-Republican Gov. Doug Ducey a few months before the U.S. Supreme Court declared that abortion was not a constitutional right, sending the issue back to the states. The 2022 Arizona law limits abortion to within the first 15 weeks of pregnancy, with exceptions for life-threatening medical emergencies, but not for cases of rape or incest.
The ruling sparked strong reactions from both sides of the aisle, even among the GOP with many Republicans opposing the court’s decision.
On April 10, Democrats in Arizona tried to repeal the ruling, but they were blocked by the GOP in both chambers of the state legislature, as reported by The Arizona Republic.
“My view is now that we have abortion where everyone wanted it from a legal standpoint, the states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both. And whatever they decide must be the law of the land. In this case, the law of the state,” the former president said.
Asked if Arizona had gone too far on the abortion issue, the former president agreed, saying, “That will be straightened out.” The president replied to reporters as he arrived in Georgia for a fundraising event on April 10.
President Joe Biden called Arizona voters to vote for him in November in response to their state Supreme Court ruling. “Elect me. I’m in the 20th century, 21st century. Not back then,” the president said. “They weren’t even a state.”
Meanwhile, pro-life advocates welcomed the ruling, calling it a victory for life.
“Life is a human right, and today’s decision allows the state to respect that right and fully protect life again—just as the legislature intended,” said Jake Warner, senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom.
“Life begins at conception. At just six weeks, unborn babies’ hearts begin to beat. At eight weeks, they have fingers and toes. And at 10 weeks, their unique fingerprints begin to form.
“Arizona’s pro-life law has protected unborn children for over 100 years, and the people of Arizona, through their elected representatives, have repeatedly affirmed that law, including as recently as 2022. We celebrate the Arizona Supreme Court’s decision that allows the state’s pro-life law to again protect the lives of countless, innocent unborn children.”
Arizona’s Gov. Katie Hobbs called the ruling “the most extreme abortion bans in the country” and “a dark day in Arizona” as she vowed to fight for abortion rights in the state.
