Abortion legislation from 1864 was revived by an Arizona judge – Shawnna Bolick

Shawnna Bolick spoke continuously for 20 minutes without pausing. The politician who supports traditional ideas was arguing in a strong way in the Arizona Senate, controlled by the Republican party, about a law to get rid of a rule from 1864 that prohibits almost all abortions.

The Democrats needed to get one more vote from the right to move the bill forward.

Bolick, feeling sad and struggling to speak, talked about her three hard pregnancies, and one of them ended in a miscarriage. She said she couldn’t have made it without her husband’s support.

Her husband, Clint Bolick, who is a judge in the Arizona Supreme Court, was one of the majority that voted in April to bring back the almost complete ban.

People in the audience booed when the senator said she was “pro-life. ” It was only at the end of her speech that her true intentions became clear.

“I am here to keep more babies safe,” she said. “I say yes when I vote. ”

The bill was approved and the next day, on May 2, Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs officially made it a law.

Shawnna Bolick voted to get rid of a law that makes it almost impossible to have an abortion in Arizona. Her husband helped bring back this law, so her vote shows how confused and messy the rules about abortion are in Arizona. It also shows that national Republicans are having a hard time figuring out what to do about abortion during a presidential election year.

This might be a problem for the judge and the senator. Both said no to being interviewed by The Associated Press.

Shawnna and Clint Bolick met in Washington at an event put on by the Heritage Foundation, which is a conservative research center. They have been friends with US Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas for a long time. He is the godfather to one of Clint Bolick’s sons. Clarence Thomas and his wife Ginni are both conservative political activists.

Clarence Thomas helped to change a law from 1973 in 2022. This is something he wanted for over 30 years. He also tried to convince his coworkers to change laws that protect marriage between people of the same sex, gay relationships, and the use of birth control.

After the 2020 president election, Ginni Thomas sent emails telling Republican lawmakers in Arizona, like Shawnna Bolick, to pick their own electors to reverse Joe Biden’s win in the state. Bolick, who was a state representative at the time, suggested a new law in the next year to change Arizona’s election rules. The new law would allow state lawmakers to cancel election results before the president is sworn in. However, her idea didn’t get voted on and was not passed.

Despite being conservative, they are being criticized as Clint Bolick tries to stay on the bench for six more years. His wife, who was appointed last year to represent her district in Phoenix, is also facing a primary challenge on July 30th.

After the top court made its decision, people on the right started asking to cancel the almost complete ban right away. On social media, US Rep David Schweikert, who is a member of the Republican party, said that the court made laws instead of just interpreting them. Former Republican Gov. Doug Ducey also said that the court’s decision did not show what the majority of people wanted.

A liberal group started a campaign against Justices Bolick and Kathryn King because they voted to bring back a 160-year-old ban on abortion. They are both running for re-election in November.

Abigail Jackson, who works for Progress Arizona, said people in Arizona can make sure judges and justices do their job. “We want to tell people in Arizona that two judges will be on the ballot in November. We encourage them to focus on trying to remove these judges from their positions. ”

People don’t usually vote against a judge who is already in office when it’s time for them to be re-elected. It has only happened six times since Arizona started its system for judges to be re-elected in 1974.

Democrats are focusing on the abortion ruling as they try to gain control of the state Legislature for the first time in a long time. Sen. Bolick is one of the main people the other party is trying to beat in the upcoming election because he represents an important area in the state.

Bolick spoke on the floor and said she wants to get rid of extreme measures that would make abortion rights a permanent part of the state’s constitution. She said she wants to limit the number of abortions in the state.

Arizona Policy Center, who is against abortion, criticized her decision to repeal, saying she sided with lawmakers who support abortion.

Some Republican friends said yes.

“Senator Jake Hoffman said that she has made the pro-life community confused. ” “Don’t be mistaken, everyone watching and listening to me right now, and everyone who will hear it, she supported abortions. ”

The repeal bill won’t start until 90 days after the state’s legislative session ends, usually in June or July. During the Civil War period, a ban on abortions was in place. But recently, the high court stopped this ban and made a new law that bans abortions after 15 weeks in Arizona.

But laws about abortion could change if Arizona voters say yes to a new law in November. This law would make it legal to have an abortion up to 24 weeks into a pregnancy. The organizers are planning to submit plenty of signatures before July 3rd.