Anti-abortion rally held
Attendees and speakers at Friday’s “Rally for Life” at the state Capitol in Phoenix offered praise for the controversial state House Bill 2650, which would treat abortions at any stage of pregnancy as homicides that could draw first-degree murder charges for pregnant people and abortion providers.
As soon as it became public Thursday night, House Bill 2650 drew harsh words from Democratic lawmakers.
“Sickening,” one state representative said of the legislation, which seeks murder charges for those who pursue and perform abortions.
“Unbelievable,” another wrote on
Twitter.
But attendees and speakers at Friday’s “Rally for Life” in Phoenix returned to a different term again and again as they praised the bill: “Courageous.”
“This bill will not compromise,” Rusty Thomas, the controversial head
of anti-abortion group Operation Save America, told a cheering crowd gathered at the Arizona Capitol.
“It is not going to reach across the aisle and make a deal with the devil. We’re done with that. It will not seek to regulate baby murder but ... end it,” he said.
Indeed, the bill from Rep. Walt Blackman, R-Snowflake, is among the most aggressive anti-abortion measures under consideration in the United States.
It compels county attorneys to treat abortions at any stage of pregnancy as homicides, “regardless of any contrary or conflicting federal laws, regulations, treaties, court decisions or executive orders.”
It leaves open the possibility of firstdegree murder charges, which can result in the death penalty or a lifetime sentence, for both mothers and abortion providers.
And if county attorneys fail to prosecute — something Republican Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel, for instance, has said she’d be reluctant to do — it gives the state attorney general authority to intervene.
“This is the type of bill that makes everyone stand alone and answer for their decisions on life and death, regardless of what side of the aisle you’re on,” Blackman said at the rally, as supporters waved signs promoting his bill.
He called the legislation “perfect.”
Bill goes too far for some
Blackman did acknowledge the bill would face “some resistance” during a question-and-answer session with the crowd.
He cited Planned Parenthood and Democratic legislators as probable opponents.
Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona did promise Blackman a fight Friday, charging him and his nine Republican cosponsors with “seeking to violate our Constitution and further stigmatize people who have abortions.”
But part of the bill also drew criticism from Arizona’s leading anti-abortion lobbyist: Center for Arizona Policy Director Cathi Herrod.
“I oppose any move to put the woman who seeks or has an abortion in prison,” Herrod wrote in a Twitter post. “In the pro-life community, we love both the woman and her unborn child. Both are victims.”
Ginger Smith, a Gilbert resident who attended Friday’s rally, also called that element of Blackman’s proposal “a little tricky.”
Though she said she’d ultimately support consequences for pregnant women, she believes more education is needed to counteract “a lot of propaganda” from pro-choice advocates.
She unequivocally supported Blackman’s decision not to allow exceptions for pregnancies caused by rape and incest, however.
“The nature of somebody’s conception does not devalue them,” Smith said. “They’re still a human being. Killing somebody because of the crime of someone else doesn’t make sense.”
Blackman said he will not amend the bill to address any concerns from within or outside the GOP.
Anything less than the current proposal
would amount to merely “regulating murder,” he said.
“If we look at the platform of the Republican Party, that platform is to fight abortion,” Blackman told the crowd Friday. “Republicans who stand on that platform will do this.”
Cosponsors of the bill include Reps. Brenda Barton, R-Payson; Leo Biasiucci, R-Lake Havasu City; Shawnna Bolick, R-Phoenix; Judy Burges, R-Skull Valley; Frank Carroll, R-Sun City West; David Cook, R-Globe; John Fillmore, R-Apache Junction; Jake Hoffman, R-Queen Creek; and Ben Toma, R-Peoria.