The State of Arizona is reeling from a recent decision by its Supreme Court upholding an 1864 near-total ban on abortion, as Democrats have come out in force against it. In a statement to Cactus Politics received, Representative Juan Ciscomani (R-AZ), joined in the criticism of the ruling, calling it "a disaster for women and doctors" and supporting efforts to compromise in a bipartisan manner.
"Today’s ruling is a disaster for women and doctors. In Arizona, our 15-week law protected the rights of women and new life. It respected women and the difficult decision of ending a pregnancy - one I will never personally experience and won’t pretend to understand. As my record shows, I’m a strong supporter of empowering women to make their own health care choices and I oppose a national abortion ban. The territorial law is archaic. We must do better for women and I call on our state policymakers to address this in a bipartisan manner," Rep. Ciscomani told Cactus Politics.
According to his website, Rep. Ciscomani described himself as largely pro-life: "Juan will never do anything to jeopardize a woman’s health. Juan is pro-life with exceptions for rape, incest, and protecting the life of the mother."
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However, this has not stopped abortion advocacy groups and Democrats from going after him in the past. Abortion advocacy group EMILY's List lists him as "on notice" for supporting the overturning of Roe v. Wade, supporting the election of pro-lifer Representative Mike Johnson (R-LA) to the Speakership, and having "supported an abortion ban with no exceptions for rape or incest that would charge doctors with felonies for providing care."
In August, Ciscomani voted in favor of an appropriations bill for the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) that kept mail-in mifepristone pills, which induce abortions, rather than side with other Republicans who wanted the provision removed, supposedly in contradiction of his previous assertion that abortion is a states' rights issue.
Additionally, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) said in January that "Roe v. Wade is gone, Juan Ciscomani is next" due to his anti-abortion voting record.
In December, the East Arizona Courier noted that Ciscomani is considered the 11th most vulnerable member of the House of Representatives, and this Arizona ruling could very well tip the scales of power in the House come November.
