O’Halleran, Sinema, Kelly react to Roe v. Wade reversal

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The Abortion Rights March passes in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington D.C. on May 14, 2022. [Elvert Barnes Photography via Flickr]

The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday struck down Roe v. Wade, effectively overturning a woman’s Constitutional right to abortion established nearly 50 years ago.

The court’s 6-3 ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization allows states to curtail or outlaw abortion.

According to a Fox News report: “Chief Justice John Roberts agreed that the viability line ‘never made any sense,’ but said he would have taken ‘a more measured course’ with this case. Rather than overturn Roe v. Wade altogether, Roberts said he would have continued to recognize a right to get an abortion, and that the right should ‘extend far enough to ensure a reasonable opportunity to choose, but need not extend any further.'”

In a statement, Congressman Tom O’Halleran (AZ-01) said he was angered by the ruling, noting his 16-year-old granddaughter will now have fewer rights than his wife had in the 1970s.

“Today, I am furious, disappointed, crestfallen,” said O’Halleran, who represents Maricopa. “This decision goes back on half a century of legal precedent; it is a mammoth setback for women, families, and our entire nation.”

“I firmly support a woman’s right to choose and believe that health care decisions should lie solely between a woman and her doctor,” he continued. “Now, that right and that privacy can be taken away.

“From the time the draft decision was leaked, the Senate had over a month to take up and pass our Women’s Health Protection Act, which would have codified the federal protections guaranteed under Roe v. Wade into law. They failed to do so.”

Arizona senior Sen. Kyrsten Sinema also released a statement on the court’s much-anticipated decision.

“A woman’s health care choices should be between her, her family, and her doctor,” she said. “Today’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade endangers the health and well-being of women in Arizona and across America.

“Throughout my time in Congress, I’ve always supported women’s access to health care, and I’ll continue working with anyone to protect women’s ability to make decisions about their futures.”

Sinema noted she has repeatedly voted in favor of protecting women’s right to choose and is a co-sponsor of the Women’s Health Protection Act.

Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly also lamented the rollback of women’s rights.

“Today’s decision is a giant step backward for our country,” he tweeted. “It’s just wrong that my granddaughter will have fewer freedoms than my grandmother did. Women deserve the right to make their own decisions about abortion. Period.”

Arizona has a retroactive abortion ban, meaning that a pre-1973 law banning abortion at any time — with no exceptions for rape or incest — was invalidated by Roe, but is still on the books and can now be enforced.

On March 30 of this year, Gov. Doug Ducey signed Arizona S.B. 1164, banning abortions after 15 weeks and charging physicians who perform abortions after this period with a class 6 felony if convicted. The legislation has no exceptions for rape or incest.

1 COMMENT

  1. Come on InMaricopa. True journalism would report both sides. Many people other than the politicians you listed above, agree with the SCOTUS ruling today. How about reporting that side also? Something to think about at least.