8 April 11th-April 17th, 2024 phoenixnewtimes.com PHOENIX NEW TIMES | NEWS | FEATURE | FOOD & DRINK | ARTS & CULTURE | MUSIC | CONCERTS | CANNABIS | ‘Connect the Dots’ Abortion at the heart of 2024 elections in Arizona. BY TJ L’HEUREUX I t may come as a surprise to many Arizonans that conservative Republicans played a role in creating one of the state’s first birth control clinics, which later merged with Planned Parenthood, the largest provider of reproductive health care and abortions in the U.S. Mother’s Health Clinic, the first birth control clinic in Phoenix, was opened in 1937 thanks to the work of a group of activist women that included Peggy Goldwater. Over time, a network of clinics developed and became Planned Parenthood of Arizona, providing contra- ception and abortion services to all women after doing so became legal in 1973. Goldwater was the wife of Barry Goldwater, who would become a conserva- tive icon, presidential candidate and U.S. senator representing Arizona for 30 years. He was a stalwart opponent of government overreach into the private lives of civilians and believed abortion was a matter of personal choice, one in which the govern- ment should not have a say. He even helped paint the walls of Mother’s Health Clinic before it opened. The senator fought the GOP’s hardline stance on abortion well into his 80s. How the political winds have changed in Arizona. The Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in 2022 brought about a chaotic struggle in Arizona, as well as the U.S., in which Democrats are working to guarantee abortion rights and Republicans want to thwart laws establishing reproduc- tive freedom. The right to abortion, contraception and reproductive freedom are front and center in the courts, presidential race, state legislative campaigns and ballot initiatives. In Arizona, the state Supreme Court could decide any day which of two extreme laws will have supremacy: A 2022 law that bans abortion after 15 weeks or an 1864 law that bans abortion outright, even in cases of rape or incest. A measure on the November ballot could enshrine reproductive rights into the Arizona Constitution. On March 13, the GOP-controlled Arizona Legislature blocked attempts by Democrats to force a vote on contraception access. And in the high-profile U.S. Senate race in Arizona, reproductive rights is a defining issue between U.S. Rep. Ruben Gallego, a Phoenix Democrat, and Republican Kari Lake. “It’s scary to think that an American right now has less rights over their body than an American 40 years ago,” Gallego said during a Feb. 21 event at The Other Bar in Phoenix with Reproductive Freedom for All, a nonprofit that advocates against restrictions on abortions. ‘You can’t take your chances with Kari Lake’ During the Feb. 21 event, Mini Timmaraju, president of Reproductive Freedom for All, told Phoenix New Times that since Roe v. Wade’s demise, the issue is now about freedom, not choice. “The choice/life binary was really effec- tive for a long time but doesn’t actually apply anymore from an ethics perspec- tive,” Timmaraju said. “It’s important in this moment to think about fundamental freedom to decide if, when and how to have a family.” Reproductive Freedom for All is heavily focused on Arizona this election cycle for two main reasons: President Joe Biden’s reelection hinges on the state, and a victory for Gallego could help end the filibuster in the U.S. Senate, That, in turn, could open the door to passage of a bill guaranteeing repro- ductive freedom, which failed in 2022. In Biden’s State of the Union address on March 7, he called on voters to elect leaders who could reinstate abortion rights across the country. “If you, the American people, send me a Congress that supports the right to choose, I promise you, I will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land again,” Biden said. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, the Democrat- turned-independent who blocked her party’s effort to pass a law reinstating Roe v. Wade, announced on March 5 she will not run for a second term. That leaves the race to represent Arizona in the U.S. Senate between Gallego and Kari Lake, the Republican firebrand and sore loser of the 2022 race for governor. At the Feb. 21 event, Gallego struck a contrast between his consistent support for reproductive rights and Lake’s ever- changing stance. “You can’t take your chances with Kari Lake,” Gallego said. “When she says, ‘I’m not for this. I’m for this now,’ how can you trust someone who only months ago was saying it’s OK to arrest providers of abor- tion care?” Gallego said he would support an over- ride of the filibuster to pass a national abortion rights bill. He highlighted his decades-long support for abortion rights, though he joked he did make one mistake when it comes to the issue: starting a group called Bros for Choice, which eventually changed to Men for Choice. “This cannot just be a fight that women take on,” Gallego said. “There is no equality for women, for our families unless they have rights to control their bodies.” Gallego told New Times that Democrats and abortion rights organizers can tap into Arizona’s libertarian roots for the November elections. A ballot initiative and numerous races will have a huge bearing on reproductive rights. “We’re a Western state — we want government to stay out of our business. And I think this perfectly aligns with that,” Gallego said. “We want government to stay out of our families’ business, and I think the initiative is going to reflect that.” While the Senate race garners atten- tion, races for Arizona’s two House swing seats will play a role in which party controls that chamber. The Arizona Republic highlighted how Rep. David Schweikert, a Scottsdale Republican who narrowly has maintained hold of the 1st District seat for years, has supported extreme legislation that defines a child as existing at the moment of fertilization. U.S. Rep. Juan Ciscomani, a Tucson Republican who barely won election to the 6th District seat in 2022, co-sponsored House of Representatives 7, a bill that aimed to prohibit the use of tax credits to purchase insurance that covers abortion for women who are serving in the military, veterans covered under Medicaid, federal employees and those covered by the Indian Health Service. Schweikert and Ciscomani also are members of the Republican Mini Timmaraju, president of Reproductive Freedom for All, spoke at an event on Feb. 21 hosted by the organization at The Other Bar in north central Phoenix. (Photo by TJ L’Heureux) | NEWS | >> p 11
