--- title: Arizona Just Became the Most Important State in 2024 Politics description: After Arizona's supreme court upheld a near-total abortion ban, the issue could animate the presidential and Senate races in the battleground state. canonical: https://time.com/6965602/arizona-abortion-ban-politics-2024/ author: Nik Popli article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2024-04-10T20:36:44.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-19T07:41:30.416Z article:section: Politics og:title: Arizona Just Became the Most Important State in 2024 Politics og:description: Abortion has become "the white hot issue on November's ballot" in Arizona. og:url: https://time.com/6965602/arizona-abortion-ban-politics-2024/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltafbc66b618f9b8eb/698a558247ca38ed933bd63a/az-abortion.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2400 og:image:height: 1350 og:image:alt: az-abortion og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Arizona Just Became the Most Important State in 2024 Politics twitter:description: Abortion has become "the white hot issue on November's ballot" in Arizona. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltafbc66b618f9b8eb/698a558247ca38ed933bd63a/az-abortion.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 video:duration: 02:46 video:published: 2024-04-10 section: politics topics: Arizona Supreme Court, abortion ban, 1860 law, Roe v Wade, reproductive rights, executive order, state abortion bans, rape and incest exceptions, ballot box, repeal genre: news, political statement tones: critical, urgent, alarmed, advocacy emotions: concern (high), anger (medium), determination (medium) sentiment: negative audience: voters, Arizona residents, news readers, reproductive rights advocates organizations: Arizona Supreme Court, Supreme Court, Planned Parenthood content_suitability: politics [00:00-02:46]; health controversy [00:00-02:46]; crime [00:17-00:27] transcript_source: publisher captions transcript_reviewed: not applicable ---  # After Abortion Ban, Arizona Just Became the Most Important State in 2024 Politics > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=b4fe0f77-491e-4160-b341-d341cd0a8675&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1) ## Video: What to Know About the Arizona Supreme Court Abortion Ban Ruling [Watch (HLS stream): What to Know About the Arizona Supreme Court Abortion Ban Ruling](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/SnxVRxV2.m3u8) (2:46)  _Published 2024-04-10. The Arizona Supreme Court upheld a 160-year-old abortion ban on Tuesday that would prohibit nearly all abortions in the state except when “necessary to save” a pregnant person’s life._ Description, summary, key points, chapters, key quotes, questions and transcript, where present, were produced automatically from the video or its captions and were not reviewed. ## Summary The video compiles statements from political figures reacting to the Arizona Supreme Court's decision upholding an 1860 abortion law. Speakers criticize the ruling, saying it fails to protect women when their health is at risk or in cases of rape or incest. They link the ruling to the overturning of Roe v Wade and note that 21 state abortion bans are now in effect. The Arizona governor describes an executive order removing county attorneys' ability to prosecute women and doctors, calls for repeal of the ban, and encourages voters to speak at the ballot box in November. ## Key points - The 1860 Arizona law is described as failing to protect women even when their health is at risk or in cases of rape or incest. (00:17) - A speaker states there are now 21 extreme state abortion bans in effect across the country. (00:30) - One-third of all women of reproductive age are said to live in a state with an abortion ban. (00:36) - A speaker attributes these bans directly to the Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade, enabled by the previous president's three Supreme Court appointments. (00:44) - The Arizona Supreme Court opinion upholds one of the country's most extreme abortion bans, which is currently stayed. (01:10) - The governor says Arizona's 2022 ban is extreme and that the Civil War era ban creates more chaos for women and doctors. (01:39) - The governor's executive order removing county attorneys' ability to prosecute women and doctors performing abortions remains in place. (01:57) - The governor says the ban is 14 days from coming back to life, must be repealed immediately, and voters may weigh in this November. (02:09) ## Chapters - [00:00 to 00:30] Reaction to the Arizona Supreme Court decision. A speaker calls the ruling alarming and says the 1860 law fails to protect women in health risks, rape or incest. - [00:30 to 01:10] National context of abortion bans. A speaker cites 21 state bans and links them to the overturning of Roe v Wade. - [01:10 to 01:57] Details of the ruling and its effects. A speaker describes the court's opinion, the current stay, and the chaos created for women and doctors. - [01:57 to 02:46] Governor's response and call to vote. The governor cites her executive order, urges repeal, and encourages voters to act at the ballot box. ## Key quotes - [00:03] Speaker: "millions of arizonans will soon face an even more extreme" - [01:06] Speaker: "It is a dark Day in Arizona." - [01:39] Governor: "Let me be clear Arizona's 2022 abortion ban is Extreme and hurts" - [02:16] Governor: "It must be repealed immediately" - [02:41] Governor: "You can make your concerns known at The Ballot Box and I encourage" ## Questions this video answers - What is wrong with the 1860 Arizona abortion law according to the speakers? [00:17] - How many state abortion bans are currently in effect across the country? [00:30] - How do speakers connect the Arizona ruling to Roe v Wade? [00:44] - What is the status of the ban after the Arizona Supreme Court ruling? [01:10] - What has the governor done to limit prosecutions under the ban? [01:57] - What do the speakers urge Arizonans to do about the issue? [02:16] ## Content suitability - politics [00:00-02:46]: Partisan political statements on abortion policy and an upcoming election. - health controversy [00:00-02:46]: Discussion of abortion bans and their effect on women's health and rights. - crime [00:17-00:27]: Mentions rape and incest in the context of abortion exceptions.  by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/)  ## Nik Popli Staff Writer Apr 10, 2024 8:36 PM UTC The Arizona Supreme Court upheld a 160-year-old abortion ban on Tuesday that would prohibit nearly all abortions in the state except when “necessary to save” a pregnant person’s life.  by [Nik Popli](https://time.com/author/nik-popli/)  ## Nik Popli Staff Writer Apr 10, 2024 8:36 PM UTC There’s no state that political pundits will be watching more closely this fall than Arizona. Voters in one of the nation’s biggest electoral battlegrounds are set to determine the outcome of a tossup Senate race, a pair of close congressional seats, and the winner of its 11 Electoral College votes—and now a recent court ruling has ensured abortion will be an animating issue at the ballot box. After the state Supreme Court decided on Tuesday to bring back a [160-year-old near total ban](https://time.com/6965338/arizona-supreme-court-abortion-ban/) on the procedure, Arizona has effectively been thrust into the center of the national abortion debate that is expected to dominate the upcoming presidential election and once again test Republicans’ messaging strategy after [_Roe v. Wade_ was overturned](https://time.com/6189476/abortion-supreme-court-overturns-roe-v-wade/). “I don't think it can be overstated the impact this week's ruling will have on the November election,” says Barrett Marson, an Arizona-based Republican strategist who predicts the key battleground state now leans blue. “Everything that you thought was conventional wisdom about Arizona was thrown out the window overnight.” Democrats have already seized on the ruling to transform the 2024 race into another referendum on abortion rights, blaming former President Donald Trump for overturning the constitutional right to abortion and encouraging disaffected Democrats in the state to turn out in November. “This ruling is a result of the extreme agenda of Republican elected officials who are committed to ripping away women’s freedom,” [President Joe Biden](https://time.com/6958784/biden-campaign-strategy-problems-2024/) said in a statement after the ruling. He has promised to codify the right to an abortion if re-elected with Democratic control of Congress. **Read More:** [_What to Know About the Arizona Supreme Court Abortion Ban Ruling_](https://time.com/6965338/arizona-supreme-court-abortion-ban/) Stacy Pearson, a Democratic strategist based in Arizona, says that Democrats have an opportunity to capitalize on the court ruling and convince undecided voters in the state, particularly women, that their candidates will support women’s reproductive rights. “The Supreme Court woke up folks that hadn't been paying attention and that is not going to end well for Republicans,” Pearson says. Vice President Kamala Harris is expected to travel to the state on Friday to emphasize the Biden Administration’s support for abortion rights. “It will be the overarching issue of 2024,” Marson says, adding that Arizona Republicans in districts considered safe should now be worried that the abortion issue has made their districts competitive as the fight to regain reproductive rights has in recent years become one of the most potent issues in motivating Democrats to vote. Abortion defining 2024 political races isn’t what most Republicans would prefer. [Kari Lake](https://time.com/6225004/kari-lake-arizona-maga-right-interview/), the expected GOP candidate in Arizona’s Senate race, attempted Tuesday to soften her stance on abortion when she came out against the Arizona Supreme Court ruling despite praising the same ban during her unsuccessful bid for governor in 2022\. “Smart Republican campaigns will take the abortion issue off the table, and focus on hammering Democrats on the economy and border,” says a GOP consultant and Trump ally who requested anonymity to candidly discuss the candidates’ messaging strategies. Asked if Trump should stop taking credit for the reversal of _Roe v. Wade_, the consultant replied: “We need to move on and focus on popular issues in the abortion debate—protecting \[in vitro fertilization\] IVF and child tax credits.” But pivoting away from abortion in Arizona—and elsewhere—may be nearly impossible. Polling data shows that [most Americans disapproved](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2022/07/06/majority-of-public-disapproves-of-supreme-courts-decision-to-overturn-roe-v-wade/) of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the constitutional right to abortion in June 2022, and about 1 in 8 voters say that abortion is the most important issue driving their vote this fall, according to a recent [KFF survey](https://www.kff.org/womens-health-policy/poll-finding/kff-health-tracking-poll-march-2024-abortion-in-the-2024-election-and-beyond). Republicans have struggled to find a winning message on abortion that resonates with voters, and candidates have [paid the price](https://time.com/6333189/beshear-youngkin-election-abortion/) in almost every election where abortion was on the ballot. Marson says the abortion issue will likely be an “albatross around Trump’s neck” in the coming months as he attempts to woo moderate voters without isolating the conservative religious voters in the Republican Party. Trump on Monday [declined to endorse a federal abortion ban](https://time.com/6964678/donald-trump-abortion-ban-states/), instead calling on states to set their own policies. But two days later, he said that Arizona went too far: “I think it’ll be straightened out and, as you know, it's all about state’s rights and it will be straightened out,” Trump said Wednesday at a campaign event in Atlanta. “I’m sure the governor and everybody else have got to bring it back into reason, and that it will be taken care of I think.” Liberal organizers in the state are also trying to put abortion directly on the ballot. A measure that would enshrine abortion in the Arizona constitution has already gathered enough signatures to be placed on the ballot, the organizers say, giving Democrats another opportunity to protect abortion in the state. Several [other states](https://apnews.com/article/abortion-ballot-amendment-ban-protection-states-2024-052ff9846f8416efb725240af22b92ec), including Florida and Maryland, will also have abortion petitions on the ballot in November. Arizona is a critical state in the expected presidential contest between Biden and Trump. Biden helped secure his victory in 2020 by flipping Arizona, which had voted for Trump in 2016\. And the Senate battle shaping up between Lake, an ardent Trump ally, and Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego, could be decisive to the balance of power in Congress. After Wednesday’s ruling, abortion is likely to influence each of those high-stakes contests. “It’s the white hot issue on November's ballot,” Pearson says. ## Transcript [00:00] So I want to start by addressing some devastating and alarming [00:03] news from the Arizona Supreme Court with today's decision [00:07] millions of arizonans will soon face an even more extreme [00:12] and dangerous abortion ban than they did before this Arizona [00:17] law which was initially enacted in 1860 for more than 150 years [00:22] ago fails to protect women, even when their health is at risk [00:27] or in horrific cases of rape or incest. [00:30] There are now 21 extreme State abortion ban in effect across [00:36] the country one. [00:37] Third of all women of reproductive age now live in a state [00:40] with an abortion man and all of these bands including the one [00:44] of hell today. [00:45] That was upheld by the Arizona Supreme Court are a direct [00:50] result of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade, [00:53] when the president's predecessor handicapped 3 Supreme Court [00:58] Justices to overturn Roe. [01:00] Wade it paved the way for the chaos and confusion. [01:03] We're seeing play out across the country today. [01:06] It is a dark Day in Arizona. [01:10] Just now at the Arizona Supreme Court issued its opinion [01:13] and plant hurt Parenthood B Maze of holding one of the most [01:18] extreme abortion bans in the country and how it is currently [01:23] stayed. We continue to live under an unacceptable ban a lot that [01:28] still strips arizonans of their personal autonomy and has no exceptions [01:32] for women who are the victims of rape or incest or any regard [01:36] for pregnancy complications. [01:39] Let me be clear Arizona's 2022 abortion ban is Extreme and hurts [01:44] women and the near-total Civil War era band that continues [01:49] to hang over. [01:50] Our heads only serves to create more chaos for women and doctors [01:55] in our state. [01:57] As Governor I promised I would do everything in my power to protect [02:00] our reproductive freedoms my executive order removing the ability [02:05] of County attorneys to prosecute women and doctors performing [02:09] abortions remains. We are 14 days away from this extreme [02:15] band coming back to life. [02:16] It must be repealed immediately final this November arizonans [02:23] may have an opportunity to make their voices heard on this important [02:26] issue to the people across Arizona who are concerned about [02:31] the future of abortion rights in our state who are worried about [02:34] their bodily autonomy who don't want to see the freedom [02:38] of their wives sisters and daughters restricted. [02:41] You can make your concerns known at The Ballot Box and I encourage [02:44] you to do so ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6965602/arizona-abortion-ban-politics-2024/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6965602/arizona-abortion-ban-politics-2024/"},"headline":"After Abortion Ban, Arizona Just Became the Most Important State in 2024 Politics","datePublished":"2024-04-10T20:36:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-10-19T07:41:30.416Z","description":"The abortion ban could animate the presidential and Senate races in the battleground state","url":"https://time.com/6965602/arizona-abortion-ban-politics-2024/","keywords":["abortion","News Desk","Second click"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltafbc66b618f9b8eb/698a558247ca38ed933bd63a/az-abortion.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nik Popli","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/nik-popli/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltafbc66b618f9b8eb/698a558247ca38ed933bd63a/az-abortion.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"az-abortion","caption":"Protesters take part in a small rally led by Women's March Tucson after Arizona's Supreme Court revived a law dating to 1864 that bans abortion in virtually all instances, in Tucson, Ariz. on April 9, 2024.","creditText":"Rebecca Noble—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/abortion/","name":"abortion"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6965602/arizona-abortion-ban-politics-2024/","name":"After Abortion Ban, Arizona Just Became the Most Important State in 2024 Politics"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"What to Know About the Arizona Supreme Court Abortion Ban Ruling","description":"The Arizona Supreme Court upheld a 160-year-old abortion ban on Tuesday that would prohibit nearly all abortions in the state except when “necessary to save” a pregnant person’s life.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/SnxVRxV2/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2024-04-10T14:12:41.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/SnxVRxV2.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/6965602/arizona-abortion-ban-politics-2024/","duration":"PT2M46S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/6965602/arizona-abortion-ban-politics-2024/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```