I’ve had two days to sit with the grievous Arizona House decision to repeal the most protective pro-life law in Arizona’s history, and I still choke on the words. Even with a slim pro-life majority, not enough members could agree to hold strong and protect unborn babies and their mothers.

Representative Matt Gress introduced the repeal Wednesday. Representatives Tim Dunn, and Justin Wilmeth joined him to hand pro-abortion activist lawmakers a victory vote of 32-28. With the Senate’s move last week to bring the repeal to a vote, we can expect the official fall of the pre-Roe law limiting abortion to cases where the mother’s life is at risk probably next Wednesday.

The vote came after a commendable attempt by Representative Alex Kolodin to add an amendment to the inevitable repeal that would have forced Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes to enforce the 15-week limit that will be in place once the repeal takes effect. But even that was too much to ask a majority of lawmakers.

I am very grateful for the 28 representatives in the House who voted against the repeal, some who gave moving statements in defense of life. Speaker Pro Tem Travis Grantham spoke somberly about the failure to protect innocent life. Rep. Alex Kolodin lamented the notion of some pro-life lawmakers voting for the repeal in an attempt to save their seats, “We are willing to kill infants to win elections.”

Representative David Marshall scolded abortion supporters for their willingness to allow the abortion industry to target African American and Hispanic communities. Representatives Rachel Jones and Jacqueline Parker spoke out strongly against the repeal, with Rep. Parker calling abortion barbaric. Representative Barbara Parker made a strong statement against perpetuating violence, “As long as we teach our children to kill children in the womb, we will never be able to convince them that it is not okay to kill children in the classroom.”

House Speaker Ben Toma spoke up for the sanctity of life and the evils of abortion on-demand, “I fervently disagree with my Democrat colleagues who advocate for extremism through unlimited, unrestricted, and unregulated abortions. Abortions are not healthcare. Abortion kills life. Abortion kills the most vulnerable members of our society. Just because the mother of that child may not want that child, does not mean that the child is not precious and has inherent value.” Speaker Toma scolded the abortion activist lawmakers’ unprofessional zeal to expand abortion, “This is a legislative body. Not a place for activism. We must be able to respectfully disagree and have honest debates while we make critical decisions for the people of Arizona.”

Announcing he would not stand for such behavior, Speaker Toma later stripped Rep. Gress and Rep. Oscar De Los Santos, who seconded Gress’ repeal motion, of their House Appropriations Committee positions.

The Hits Keep Coming

Wednesday’s vote was one of five moves this week to expand abortion in every conceivable way possible. It is becoming an all-out effort to level any bump, silence any critic, and pave the way to the abortion clinic.

• Arizona’s Attorney General filed a motion with the Arizona Supreme Court asking the justices to reconsider their decision to uphold the pre-Roe law, which will be a moot point if the Senate goes through with the repeal next week.
• In an effort to avoid any lull in abortions, California Governor Gavin Newsom, working with AG Mayes, rushed to fast track the licensing of Arizona abortionists in his state as well.
• The Biden Administration’s Health and Human Services Department made a change to the HIPPA law that now prohibits sharing abortion information with investigators in an effort to subvert any enforcement of pro-life laws. The rule includes information on abortion-related services as well puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and gender surgeries.

Hiding that information from state agencies keeps the state in the dark about legitimate health interests within the state. More egregious, the new rules provide cover to perpetrators of sex crimes and pregnancies stemming from those crimes by depriving the states of critical evidence needed to prosecute those crimes.

The new rule also excludes unborn babies from the definition of “person” and “child.”

• The Biden Administration is also trying to force emergency room doctors to do abortions. The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments this week in a key pro-life case coming out of the state of Idaho.

In 2020, Idaho passed its Defense of Life Act protecting both women and unborn babies by mandating that doctors may only perform abortions to save the life of the mother. The Biden administration sued the state for allegedly violating a federal law passed in the 1980s called Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA). The Administration claims that EMTALA forces Idaho doctors and hospitals to provide abortions despite the state protection.

Ironically, that very law actually shields the unborn by requiring emergency rooms to provide essential care to both pregnant mothers and their babies. CAP joined other family policy councils to file an amicus brief in this case. The Court will issue an opinion by the end of June.

Federal Agency Erases Women

Strategically released on a Friday afternoon, the Biden Administration’s Health and Human Services Department dissolved the differences between male and female in sports and private spaces. HHS adopted new rules redefining “sex” to include sexual orientation and gender identity in Title IX, the federal law providing decades of equal access in education to women and girls. Instead of protecting girls, HHS has illegitimately changed the meaning of federal law in ways that undermine parental rights, vanishes safe spaces for women, chills free speech, and undermines female athletic programs. The new rule places subjective feelings above biological reality. The changes take effect August 1st.

ICYMI

• Watch here and here my conversations on Sunday Square Off and Politics Unplugged about the pending repeal votes.
• Read here Breakpoint’s take on the new Title IX rule effectively erasing girls and women in everything education-related.
• Read here how a new report found religious private schools do a better job of boosting civic outcomes.