The Gaggle: How Arizona's abortion ban could affect the 2022 midterm elections

Abortion rights demonstrators gather at the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix on Sept. 24, 2022, to voice concerns with the recent ruling by a Pima County judge that reinstated an over century-year-old ban on abortion in almost all cases.
Abortion rights demonstrators gather at the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix on Sept. 24, 2022, to voice concerns with the recent ruling by a Pima County judge that reinstated an over century-year-old ban on abortion in almost all cases.

A Pima County Superior Court judge, in a ruling issued late on Sept. 23, effectively allowed Arizona’s 19th century ban on nearly all abortions to go back into effect. That law is at odds with a 2022 law that bans most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

Just this week, Maricopa County’s top prosecutor reversed herself and said she wouldn’t prosecute women for getting an abortion.

In a charged political environment, Arizona officials have struggled to clarify what is legal and what is now forbidden after the U.S. Supreme Court in June erased federal abortion rights.

The Pima County ruling sparked another round of anger and anguish from Democrats.

Most Republicans preferred to let the latest development pass quietly.

Early voting in Arizona’s midterms is just around the corner, and it’s clear that the battle over abortion isn’t going away.

In this episode of The Gaggle, host Ron Hansen is joined by Elaine Kamarck, founding director of the Center for Effective Public Management. She's also a senior fellow in governance studies at the Brookings Institution.

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Questions welcome

Do you have questions about the upcoming midterms? Maybe you’re curious about another facet of Arizona’s political landscape.

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Reach the reporter at kaely.monahan@arizonarepublic.com. Follow her on Twitter @KaelyMonahan 

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How Arizona's abortion ban could affect the 2022 midterm election