Trump Slams Arizona Supreme Court's Bold Move Against Abortion Rights

 Former President Donald Trump denounced the Arizona Supreme Court’s ruling Tuesday allowing an 1864 abortion ban to go back into effect—and also said he wouldn’t sign a federal abortion ban if elected, clarifying his stance on the hotly debated issue after declaring Monday abortion policies should be decided by individual states.

“Yeah, they did,” Trump told reporters in Atlanta on Wednesday when asked if he thought the court went too far, before adding, “I think it’ll be straightened out.”

The law, under stay for 14 days, makes it a felony, punishable by up to five years in prison, to perform abortions.

The court issued the 4-2 opinion Tuesday in response to a request to take up the question of the legality of the 160-year-old abortion law following the reversal of Roe v. Wade in June 2022—but it’s unclear how it would be implemented as the state’s Democratic Attorney General Kris Mayes has vowed not to prosecute abortion providers under the law.

The ruling came a day after Trump declared abortion policies should be decided at the state level in a highly anticipated announcement that left open the possibility he could someday support a federal ban.

On Wednesday—following widespread criticism that he was sidestepping the politically hazardous question on whether he’d back national abortion restrictions—Trump said “no” when asked by a reporter if he would sign a national ban if Congress sent it to his desk, repeating himself when the reporter asked again.


The Arizona Supreme Court ruling, granted in response to a request from obstetrician Eric Hazelrigg and Yavapai County Attorney Dennis McGrane, prompted widespread rebuke from both sides of the political aisle. Arizona Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake, a staunch Trump ally, also disputed the ruling, despite saying previously she supported it. Trump on Monday did not address a federal abortion ban in his announcement, despite previously indicating he was open to limiting abortion to 15 weeks of pregnancy, while President Joe Biden predicted he would ultimately sign a ban into law if he were elected and Congress sent the legislation to his desk. A coalition of Republicans, some who previously said they support a national ban, echoed Trump’s position, while others, including former Vice President Mike Pence and Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., openly contested Trump’s approach, accusing him of abandoning the anti-abortion movement.

Democrats hope the Arizona ruling will bolster Biden’s reelection chances by drawing Biden voters to the polls in November as Arizonans are set to decide on a constitutional amendment that would effectively nullify the state Supreme Court’s decision by declaring a “fundamental right” to abortion up to fetal viability, at about 24 weeks of pregnancy. Florida voters will also decide on a similar constitutional amendment that would enshrine the right to abortion into the state constitution, which would upend the state Supreme Court’s ruling earlier this month allowing the six-week ban Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law last year to take effect. Trump also expressed skepticism of Florida’s law, predicting the state is “going to maybe change also.”