亚利桑那州的共和党议员周三明确表示，尽管他们的州与内战时期严格的堕胎禁令的恢复-搅乱关键战场的政治并招致唐纳德·特朗普等顶级保守派的批评-现在还不是行动过快的时候。
“立法机构不是为下意识反应而建立的，”州众议院议长·本·托马在一次会议上以共和党多数党的身份说，只有一个例外，阻止民主党领导的快速通过法案的努力废除亚利桑那州最高法院最近裁定可以执行的1864年堕胎禁令。
托马说:“我们今天最不应该做的事情就是通过立法程序匆忙通过一项法案，以废除一项已经由立法机构颁布并多次重申的法律。”
1864年的禁令取代了上周州最高法院裁决后于2022年颁布的15周堕胎禁令，禁止除挽救孕妇生命外的所有堕胎。
任何违反该法的人都将面临两到五年的州监狱监禁，但亚利桑那州总检察长克里斯·梅斯(Kris Mayes)是一名民主党人，她表示不会根据该法起诉供应商。
尽管禁令暂时搁置，但梅斯本周表示，禁令最早可能于6月8日生效，“没有任何额外的诉讼”或立法行动。
尽管苏珊·b·安东尼反对堕胎的美国总统马乔里·丹嫩费尔塞等堕胎反对者庆祝这一禁令，称州最高法院的决定是“未出生儿童及其母亲的巨大胜利”，但堕胎权利倡导者和民主党人对此表示谴责。
周三，随着议员们重新召开会议，民主党人试图推进他们的废除提案，该问题双方的倡导者聚集在州议会大厦内外。
民主党最终需要两名共和党人加入他们的参众两院。在州参议院，肖恩纳·博利克和TJ·肖普表示他们将加入废除该法案的行列;在众议院，民主党人希望众议员戴维·库克或蒂姆·邓恩最终会加入他们的行列，通过该法案。
“这是历史上的一个污点，这项禁令甚至存在——从同意年龄为10岁的时候开始，从妇女没有投票权的时候开始，”亚利桑那州民主党参议员伊娃·伯奇告诉美国广播公司新闻的伊丽莎白·舒尔茨。
伯奇的共和党同事戴夫·法恩斯沃思持另一种观点。
“我们现在有最好的法律，”州参议员告诉舒尔茨。
当被问及禁令缺乏例外时，法恩斯沃思说，“亚利桑那州是一个反堕胎州，法律是由相信生命神圣的人制定的。”
众议院议长托马在周三的议会会议上说，“堕胎是一个复杂的话题——它在伦理上、道德上都很复杂。我知道我们有着根深蒂固的信念，我请在座的每一位尊重这样一个事实，即我们中的一些人认为堕胎实际上是谋杀儿童。”
这一立场与共和党内一些最知名的声音形成鲜明对比，他们在选举年采取了更加谨慎的立场，预计堕胎将成为选民的一个主要问题，而且堕胎权在该国其他地方的竞选中获胜。
特朗普、前亚利桑那州州长道格·杜西(Doug Ducey)和参议院候选人卡莉·莱克(Kari Lake)等主要共和党人吹捧他们对堕胎限制的普遍支持但是他说1864年的禁令走得太远了.
特朗普上周表示，“这完全是关于各州的权利，需要理顺。”在亚特兰大的竞选活动中。“我相信州长和其他人会让它恢复理智，会处理好的。”
该州民主党州长凯蒂·霍布斯(Katie Hobbs)呼吁州议员废除这项禁令，但回击了特朗普。
“我有点厌倦了收拾唐纳德·特朗普的烂摊子，”霍布斯上周在“GMA3”上说。“但是，看，这只是这些政客的政治机会主义，他们正在得到他们想要的东西。唐纳德·特朗普吹嘘自己摆脱了罗伊诉韦德案。这就是结果。”
自从罗伊案在2022年被美国最高法院6比3的保守派多数推翻以来，包括特朗普任命的三名法官，正如他经常指出的那样，21个州已经禁止或严格限制堕胎。
然而，自2022年以来，全国各地的选民也一再投票保护堕胎权利，出口民调显示，这是一些选民的首要考虑，就像密歇根州的中期选举一样。
亚利桑那州堕胎权利运动正在努力争取在11月的州投票中获得潜在的宪法修正案，以纳入堕胎权利，民主党人认为这可以提高选民的热情和候选人的投票率。该运动表示，他们已经收集了超过50万个签名，超过了必要的门槛，但将继续收集签名，“直到轮子掉下来，”一位发言人告诉美国广播公司新闻。
该倡议将修改亚利桑那州的宪法，禁止该州立法禁止堕胎，直到胎儿存活，这是怀孕24周左右;它还将其他堕胎保护写进了法律。
根据周一泄露并与美国广播公司新闻(ABC News)分享的一份演示文稿，亚利桑那州共和党领导的众议院法律顾问另外在内部提出了一项计划，通过在他们所谓的堕胎政策“法庭混乱”之后增加自己的投票倡议，与该州的堕胎权利投票倡议相抗衡。一名共和党议员周三表示，这些计划最早可能在本周公开宣布。
民主党议员也计划继续推动废除。
周三，州参议员开始着手处理另一项撤销1864年禁令的法案，不过该提案最早可能在5月1日进行投票，因为在投票之前还需要进行两次阅读，而且立法机构每周举行一次会议。
亚利桑那州选民、共和党人德斯里·梅斯周三在国会大厦帮助向立法者施加压力，要求他们不要废除禁令，他称特朗普在堕胎问题上的立场“不一致”。
“如果你真的相信子宫中的婴儿是珍贵的和有价值的，他们应该得到平等的保护，”她说，并解释说她不支持强奸或乱伦的例外情况。
她向莱克等亚利桑那州共和党人传达了与1864年禁令保持距离的信息?“你是说你反对堕胎。如果你努力废除这项禁令，我们将确保你的所有选民都知道。”
共和党策略师巴雷特·马森(Barrett Marson)表示，快速废除法案的失败表明，特朗普和莱克“对极右翼政客的影响力有限”，并指出自他们参与以来，没有一张选票发生变化。
众议院民主党人将在下周再次尝试对他们的法案进行投票。
亚利桑那州众议员戴维·库克周三投票反对快速通过废除法案，但他告诉ABC新闻的菲尔·利波夫在“美国广播公司新闻直播黄金时段”的采访中保守派确实打算在未来支持废除该法案。他觉得周三没有遵守规则，他拒绝“滚动发言人”，或压制发言人对进行最终投票的反对意见。
“我们取得了巨大的进步...在前进的道路上，”库克在谈到共和党州议会党团的内部审议时说。
“最重要的是1800年的法律将被废除，”他说，成功的投票可能最快在下周举行。
周三支持废除该法案的共和党众议员马特·格雷斯表示同意。“在这个议院里有足够的票数废除领土法。这将会发生，只是时间问题，”他在地板上说。
但在那之后，库克告诉利波夫，该州的堕胎限制需要制定更多的例外规定，包括强奸和乱伦。
他为迄今为止的时间表进行了辩护，告诉利波夫，“我们不需要膝跳反应来绕过规则和正常的商业秩序。这不是紧急情况。”
另一名共和党众议员亚历山大·科洛金在周三的众议院会议上表示，共和党人将推出自己的堕胎计划，这表明行动可能会通过投票进行。
“最终做出决定的人将是亚利桑那州的人民，”他说。
在接受ABC新闻的伊丽莎白·舒尔茨采访时，科洛金表示，他并不担心堕胎政治会在选举中危及他的政党。
“选民很聪明，”他说。“他们宁愿投票给一个他们尊重但不同意的人，也不愿投票给一个什么都不信的人。”
同时，提供者说，对于亚利桑那州寻求堕胎的妇女来说，时间紧迫。
“我们正在与他们交谈，让他们知道我们会一周一周地进行下去，”德肖恩·泰勒博士告诉舒尔茨。“因为总有一天我们会停下来。“
Ignoring Trump, Arizona Republicans don't want to move too fast to repeal 1864 abortion ban
Arizona's Republican lawmakers made clear on Wednesday, despite the controversy engulfing their state with therevival of a strict, Civil War-era abortion ban-- roiling the politics of the key battleground and drawing criticism from top conservatives like Donald Trump -- that it's not the time to move too quickly.
"Legislatures are not built for knee-jerk reactions," state House Speaker Ben Toma said during a floor session as the GOP majority, with one exception,blocked a Democratic-led effort to fast-track a billto repeal the 1864 abortion ban that the Arizona Supreme Court recently ruled is enforceable.
"The last thing we should be doing today is rushing a bill through the legislative process to repeal a law that has been enacted and reaffirmed by the Legislature several times," Toma said.
The 1864 ban, which supersedes a 15-week abortion ban that was enacted in 2022 after a state Supreme Court ruling last week, blocks all abortions except to save the life of the pregnant woman.
Anyone found guilty of violating it will face two to five years in state prison, but Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat, said she would not prosecute providers under the law.
Though the ban remains temporarily on hold, Mayes said this week that the earliest it could take effect is June 8, "absent any additional litigation" or legislative action.
While the ban was celebrated by abortion opponents like Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America President Marjorie Dannenfelser -- who called the state Supreme Court decision an "enormous victory for unborn children and their mothers" -- it was denounced by abortion access advocates and Democrats.
On Wednesday, as lawmakers reconvened and Democrats sought to move forward on their repeal proposal, advocates on both sides of the issue gathered inside and outside of the state Capitol.
Democrats ultimately need two Republicans to join them in each chamber. In the state Senate, Shawnna Bolick and TJ Shope have said they’ll join the repeal push; in the House, Democrats are hopeful either Rep. David Cook or Tim Dunn will ultimately join them for passage.
"This is a stain on history that this ban even exists -- from a time when the age of consent was 10, from a time when women didn't have the right to vote," Arizona state Sen. Eva Burch, a Democrat, told ABC News' Elizabeth Schulze.
Burch's GOP colleague Dave Farnsworth took another view.
"We have the best law possible on the books right now," the state senator told Schulze.
Pressed about the ban's lack of exceptions, Farnsworth said, "Arizona's a pro-life state and that law was put into place by people that believe in the sanctity of life."
Toma, the House speaker, said during Wednesday's floor session that "abortion is a complicated topic -- it is ethically, morally complex. I understand that we have deeply held beliefs, and I would ask everyone in this chamber to respect the fact that some of us who believe that abortion is in fact the murder of children."
That position cuts against some of the most prominent voices in the GOP, who have staked out a more careful position in an election year in which abortion is expected to be a major issue for voters -- and as abortion access has won out in races elsewhere in the country.
Leading Republicans like Trump, former Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey and Senate candidate Kari Lake touted their general support for abortion restrictionsbut said the 1864 ban goes too far.
"It's all about states' rights and it needs to be straightened out," Trump said last weekduring a campaign stop in Atlanta. "And I'm sure that the governor and everybody else will bring it back into reason and that will be taken care of."
The state's Democratic governor, Katie Hobbs, has called on state lawmakers to repeal the ban -- but shot back at Trump.
"I'm kind of tired of cleaning up Donald Trump's messes," Hobbs said on "GMA3" last week. "But, look, this is just political opportunism from these politicians who this is they are getting exactly what they wanted. Donald Trump bragged about getting rid of Roe v. Wade. And this is the consequence of that."
Since Roe was overruled in 2022 by the U.S. Supreme Court's 6-3 conservative majority, including three justices named by Trump, as he often notes, 21 states have banned or severely restricted abortion access.
However, since 2022, voters across the country have also repeatedly cast ballots protecting abortion rights, and exit polling showed that it was top of mind for some voters, as in Michigan's midterm races.
The Arizona for Abortion Access campaign is working to get a potential constitutional amendment on the state's ballot in November to enshrine abortion access, which Democrats believe could boost voter enthusiasm and turnout for their candidates. The campaign has said that they have gathered more than 500,000 signatures -- surpassing the necessary threshold, but will continue to gather signatures “until the wheels fall off,” a spokesperson told ABC News.
The initiative would amend Arizona's Constitution to prohibit the state from legislating against abortion up until fetal viability, which is around 24 weeks into pregnancy; and it enshrines other abortion protections into law.
The Republican-led House counsel in Arizona has, separately, internally proposed a plan to rival the state's abortion rights ballot initiative by adding ballot initiatives of their own in the wake of what they call "court chaos" on abortion policy, according to a presentation leaked Monday and shared with ABC News. Those plans could be publicly announced as soon as this week, a Republican lawmaker said Wednesday.
Democratic lawmakers also plan to keep pushing repeal.
State senators on Wednesday began the process of taking up another bill to undo the 1864 ban, though the earliest that proposal would likely see a vote is on May 1, as it requires two other readings before a vote can be taken and the Legislature is on a once-a-week meeting schedule.
Arizona voter Desiree Mayes, a Republican at the Capitol on Wednesday to help apply pressure on lawmakers not to repeal the ban, called Trump's stance on abortion "inconsistent."
"If you really if you really believe that babies in the womb are precious and valuable, they deserve equal protection," she said, explaining she doesn't support exceptions for rape or incest.
Her message to Arizona Republicans like Lake and others distancing themselves from the 1864 ban? "You're saying you're pro-life. If you work to repeal this ban, we're going to make sure all your constituents know."
Republican strategist Barrett Marson said the failure of a quick repeal showed that Trump and Lake “only have so much sway over far-right politicians,” noting that not one vote changed since they weighed in.
House Democrats will try again, next week, for another vote on their bill.
Arizona state Rep. David Cook voted against fast-tracking the repeal legislation on Wednesday but told ABC News' Phil Lipofin an interview on "ABC News Live Prime"that conservatives do intend to get behind repeal in the future. He felt the rules weren't followed Wednesday and he refused to "roll the speaker," or neutralize the speaker’s objections to move to a final vote.
"We made tremendous progress ... in moving forward," Cook said of internal deliberations in the GOP state House caucus.
"The bottom is that the 1800 law will be repealed," he said, with a successful vote likely as soon as next week.
Republican state Rep. Matt Gress, who backed repeal on Wednesday, agreed. "There are enough votes in this chamber to repeal the territorial law. It will happen, it's just a matter of time," he said on the floor.
But after that, Cook told Lipof, more exceptions need to be enacted in the state's abortion restrictions, including for rape and incest.
He defended the timeline so far, telling Lipof, "We don't need knee-jerk reactions to bypass the rules and the normal order of business. This is not an emergency."
State Rep. Alexander Kolodin, another Republican, said during Wednesday's floor session that Republicans will roll out their own abortion plan, indicating that action may be through a ballot initiative.
"The ultimate folks who are going to make the call will be the people of the state of Arizona," he said.
Speaking with ABC News' Elizabeth Schulze, Kolodin suggested he's not worried that the politics of abortion will imperil his party at the ballot box.
"Voters are smart," he said. "They would rather vote for somebody that they respect and disagree with than somebody that doesn't believe in anything."
Meanwhile, for the women of Arizona seeking abortions, the clock is ticking, providers say.
"We are having conversations with them, letting them know that we're going week by week," Dr. DeShawn Taylor told Schulze. "Because there will come a time when we'll have to stop."
