By Ronald J. Hansen | Arizona Republic
The leaked draft opinion that would strike down federal abortion rights gave new urgency to Arizona activists and politicians on an issue now likely to dominate the national conversation through the November election and beyond.
From high-profile perches in Washington, D.C., to local races in Maricopa County, the legal and political fallout of such a ruling spread like a wildfire in Arizona.
Politico reported late Monday that at least five Supreme Court justices were crafting an opinion in February on a Mississippi case now before the court that would overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 case that legalized abortion across the country.
Arizona is among the states whose pre-Roe laws made abortion a crime. According to the Center for Reproductive Rights, 23 states have laws that would ban abortion without the legal rights under Roe.
Sinema in spotlight over filibuster debate
In a sign of how widely the issue reverberates, the high court’s draft also instantly put U.S. Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., and her support for preserving the legislative filibuster back in the national spotlight.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wants to hold a vote to preserve abortion rights, but it is doubtful because of the 60-vote requirement under current rules.
Before Monday ended, Julie Gunnigle, the Democratic candidate for Maricopa County attorney, returned to a theme in her failed 2020 campaign: Without Roe, the prosecutor’s office would decide how vigorously to enforce the state’s ban on abortion in one of the nation’s most-populous counties.
For her part, Sinema emphasized her longstanding support for abortion rights and sidestepped how the filibuster could also put those rights in jeopardy if Roe is struck down.
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