Arizona Republicans distance themselves from state Supreme Court ruling on abortion

Hours after the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that a near-total ban on abortion is enforceable, numerous Arizona Republicans who previously celebrated the end of federal protections for the procedure sought political cover by distancing themselves from the ruling.

Republicans in the state issued a wave of statements in opposition to Tuesday's ruling, which came a day after former President Donald Trump said that abortion laws should be decided by states.

Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake, who two years ago called the 1864 statute "a great law," said Tuesday that it was "out of step with Arizonans.”

"I oppose today’s ruling," she said, while also adding, "I wholeheartedly agree with President Trump — this is a very personal issue that should be determined by each individual state and her people."

Trump has frequently boasted that he's responsible for the U.S. Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022. More than a dozen states have imposed abortion bans or no longer have facilities where abortions can be obtained since the Supreme Court eliminated federal protections in 2022.

Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., who co-sponsored the Life at Conception Act in 2021 which declared the right to life at "the moment of fertilization," also voiced disapproval of the ruling, saying abortion "should be decided by Arizonans, not legislated from the bench."

In 2022, Schweikert wrote on X that he was "pleased" with the fall of Roe v. Wade.

Fellow Arizona Republican Rep. Juan Ciscomani said Tuesday's ruling “a disaster for women and providers,” and called the Civil War-era law “archaic.”

Schweikert and Ciscomani are both locked in competitive races for re-election that have been labeled Republican toss ups by the nonpartisan Cook