After pressing for abortion restrictions, Arizona Republicans distance themselves from a state Supreme Court ruling on a 160-year-old ban. The ex-assistant principal of a Virginia school where a 6-year-old student shot his teacher is charged. And the EPA limits ”forever chemicals” in drinking water.
Here’s what to know today.
Arizona Republicans distance themselves from ruling on near-total abortion ban
Arizona Senate candidate Kari Lake, pictured above, once called a Civil War-era statute outlawing nearly all abortions in the state “a great law.” But after the Arizona Supreme Court’s ruling to uphold that law, she said it was “out of step with Arizonans.”
She also took the chance to voice her support of former President Donald Trump’s stance on abortions. (Earlier this week, Trump said the issue should be left up to states to decide.) The issue of abortion, she said, is “very personal” and “should be determined by each individual state.”
Lake wasn’t the only Republican in the state who was critical of the ruling. Rep. David Schweikert, who once wrote on X that he was “pleased” with the fall of Roe v. Wade, said abortion “should be decided by Arizonans, not legislated from the bench.” Fellow Rep. Juan Ciscomani, who like Schweikert is locked in a competitive re-election race, said the ruling was a “disaster for women and providers.”
This is Morning Rundown, a weekday newsletter to start your morning. Sign up here to get it in your inbox.
Another GOP state representative, Matt Gress, said he didn’t support the ruling. “I cannot and will not condemn women, especially the victims of rape and incest, to be forced to carry their pregnancy to term.”
The 1864 law that the state Supreme Court upheld yesterday outlaws abortion from the moment of conception but includes an exception to save the woman’s life. The law was never repealed, and last year, an appellate court ruled that it could remain on the books as long as it…
Read the full article here