- Kari Lake, who's running for US Senate in Arizona after losing her race for the governorship in 2020, has emerged as a prominent Republican opponent of Tuesday's state Supreme Court ruling that permitted enforcement of an 1864 law banning nearly all abortions. New York Times (LR: 2 CP: 5)
- The 1864 law bans abortion from conception with no exceptions for rape or incest. The only exception is in the case of the mother's life being in danger. New York Times (LR: 2 CP: 5)
- Lake, previously a television news anchor, has reportedly been calling legislators in the GOP-controlled state House and Senate to lobby them about repealing the law. Former Pres. Donald Trump, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, has also said the court "went too far." Politico
- Previously, Lake said in a 2022 interview shortly after the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) overturned Roe v. Wade and reversed federal protection of abortion access that she supported what she called a "great law." Aides have said Lake was speaking about the current 15-week ban in Arizona. ABC News
- Lake earlier this week responded to the court's ruling by issuing a statement calling on Gov. Katie Hobbs and the state legislature to pass a "commonsense solution" to the abortion issue. One America (LR: 5 CP: 3)
- On Wednesday, Republicans in the state legislature recessed their session before Democratic Rep. Matt Gress could call a vote to repeal the law. CNN (LR: 2 CP: 5)
Democratic narrative:
- Lake, who has denied election results and promoted conspiracy theories, can not be trusted for a good-faith position on this issue. She lost her governor's race by a slim margin and is desperate to seem moderate enough to gain a few votes in her Senate race. But what she should be saying isn't that the 1864 law should be repealed, but explaining why her stance has changed since her 2022 interview. She owes the voters at least that much.
MSNBC (LR: 1 CP: 5)
Republican narrative:
- It's easy to see where Lake's position on abortion has shifted for the better and in line with much of the American electorate. Obviously, there must be more exceptions than the 1864 law provides. By overturning Roe v. Wade, SCOTUS rightly turned responsibility for abortion restrictions to the states. But the states should determine their abortion laws with the will of the people in mind.
TOWNHALL (LR: 5 CP: 3)
Nerd narrative:
- There's a 3% chance that elective abortion will be banned nationally in the US before 2030, according to the Metaculus prediction community.
METACULUS (LR: 3 CP: 3)