Republicans wanted Arizona's abortion ban—until they got it

The Arizona Supreme Court ruling that restores an 1864 law banning abortion at any stage has Republicans scrambling to distance themselves from the archaic law. The result is some textbook examples of hypocrisy and Republicans screaming in frustration over the results of getting exactly what they insisted that they wanted.

The best example of what happens when a dog succeeds in catching the car may be found in a statement from Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake. Lake now says she “opposes” the ruling and is asking Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs—who defeated Lake in the 2022 gubernatorial election—to pass “an immediate common sense solution” to block the court’s ruling.

But just two years ago, when an appeals court ruled against the law in the exact same case, Lake declared that the ban passed when Arizona was still a territory was “a great law.” During a debate with Hobbs, Lake insisted that she would enforce the 1864 law if elected. 

Now Lake is begging Hobbs to bail Republicans out of the disaster they supported and caused.