Senate

GOP senator praises Roe reversal after Arizona ruling: ‘We worked very hard to get this result’

by Sarah Fortinsky - 04/10/24 8:10 PM ET

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) on Wednesday credited the Republican push to overturn Roe v. Wade with the Arizona Supreme Court ruling that upheld a near-total abortion ban from the Civil War era.

In an interview on Fox Business, host Larry Kudlow asked Ernst what she thought of the court’s decision to uphold the ban, noting, “A lot of people are running away from it.”

Ernst did not address his question directly, instead reiterating her position as a pro-life lawmaker and saying Republicans worked hard to send the issue back to the states.

“Well, hey, Larry, I am a mom. I am a brand-new grandma, and I support life,” Ernst said in response. “And Senate Republicans, the GOP and President Trump really worked hard to overturn Roe v. Wade. So we returned that back to the states. That is the law of the land, with that Supreme Court decision, so the states are handling that.”

“But again, we worked very hard to get this result. Now the states will take that up,” she added.

On Tuesday, the Arizona Supreme Court upheld an 1864 abortion law that bars patients from getting an abortion in nearly all cases, making no exceptions for rape or incest. It also jails physicians who illegally perform the procedure. The ban supersedes the state’s previous 15-week abortion limit.

The ruling, which will not take effect immediately, drew broad pushback from Democrats and some Republicans alike, particularly those in Arizona in swing races.

Complicating the issue for Republicans, however, is the fact that Arizona GOP state lawmakers blocked an effort Wednesday to proceed on legislation that would repeal the 1864 law — raising questions around what steps the state Legislature might take to address the court ruling ahead of the November election.

Arizona is among a handful of key swing states that will determine the presidency and which party controls the Senate this fall. Biden won Arizona in 2020 against Trump by just more than one-quarter of a percentage point.