The Round Up: All Eyes on Arizona

The abortion issue takes center stage, and the Arizona Coyotes may be hunting for a new home in Utah.

The State of Arizona has entered the national spotlight as it faces high levels of uncertainty regarding the future of its abortion policy, and now its hockey team. As it becomes more likely that the Arizona Coyotes will move north to Utah, the state is simultaneously encountering an intense debate following a recent state Supreme Court decision on abortion.

Undoubtedly, abortion will serve as an increasingly central component of this year’s campaign. Already, both major presumptive Presidential candidates have shared their thoughts on the ruling. Also, Representative Ruben Gallego and Kari Lake–both of whom are Senate candidates–have begun campaigning with a focus on the ruling. 

Leaders Respond to Arizona Abortion Ruling 

Following last week’s move by the Arizona Supreme Court to place a territorial ban on abortion into effect pending litigation in lower courts, the state’s abortion laws have become a major area of focus for both local and national politicians. Leaders from across the political spectrum and at all levels of government have weighed in on the ruling, including President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. Their attention–and the attention of many others–to this ruling signals a likelihood that abortion will play an even more important role in Arizona’s November elections. 

At the state level, Governor Katie Hobbs recently affirmed that her 2023 Executive Order “preventing extremist county attorneys from prosecuting Arizonans for abortion-related crimes applies to women, doctors, and any member of the public who helps a woman obtain an abortion.” On the other side of the aisle, a leaked strategy document obtained by NBC News revealed that Arizona Republican legislators are looking to introduce multiple ballot initiatives to “conflict with” the Arizona for Abortion Access ballot measure. The Republican plans include a 15-week Reproductive Care and Abortion Act and a Heartbeat Protection Act, in contrast to the “AAA” ballot initiative which “aims to enshrine abortion rights into the state’s constitution through fetal viability and vastly expand the scope for exceptions.” By putting forward these measures this fall, the Arizona Republicans look to “[p]ut[] Democrats in a defensive position to argue against partial-birth abortions, discriminatory abortions, and other basic protections”

• President Joe Biden: “Millions of Arizonans will soon live under an even more extreme and dangerous abortion ban, which fails to protect women even when their health is at risk or in tragic cases of rape or incest. This cruel ban was first enacted in 1864—more than 150 years ago, before Arizona was even a state and well before women had secured the right to vote. This ruling is a result of the extreme agenda of Republican elected officials who are committed to ripping away women’s freedom.”

• Former President Donald Trump: “[Arizona] did [go too far] and it will be straightened out…It’s all about states’ rights…I’m sure that the Governor and everybody else are going to bring it back into reason and that will be taken care of, I think, very quickly…For 52 years people have wanted to end Roe v. Wade to get it back to the states–we did that.”

• Vice President Kamala Harris: “Just this week, here in Arizona, they have turned back the clock to the 1800s to take away a woman's most fundamental right, the right to make decisions about her own body. This decision by the Arizona State Supreme Court now means women here live under one of the most extreme abortion bans in our nation…And we all must understand who is to blame. Former President Donald Trump did this.” 

• Governor Katie Hobbs: “As Arizonans continue to grapple with this new reality, I want to be very clear: my Executive Order provides protections for anyone involved in seeking abortion care. That includes women and their loved ones, doctors and other healthcare providers, and any person helping a woman obtain an abortion. While the Supreme Court’s ruling revives the 1864 near-total ban, I will not let overzealous county attorneys take this as an opportunity to target any individual. As long as I am Governor, no Arizonan will be prosecuted by extremist county attorneys for seeking abortion care.”

• Former Governor Doug Ducey: “I signed the 15-week law as Governor because it is thoughtful conservative policy, and an approach to this very sensitive issue that Arizonans can actually agree on. The ruling today is not the outcome I would have preferred, and I call on our elected leaders to heed the will of the people and address this issue with a policy that is workable and reflective of our electorate.”

• Senator Kyrsten Sinema: “A woman’s health care choices should be between her, her family, and her doctor. Today’s decision by the Arizona Supreme Court endangers women’s health, safety, and well-being. Arizonans should not be forced to travel out of state just to receive basic, sometimes even life-saving, health care.  Doctors and hospitals should not be punished for providing health care to their patients. Throughout my over 20 years of public service, I’ve always supported women’s access to reproductive care, and I will work with anyone to protect Arizona women’s ability to make their own decisions about their futures.”

• Senator Mark Kelly: “This disastrous decision sets women’s rights in our state back two centuries and means that Arizona women have now lost the right to an abortion. It will criminalize doctors for doing their jobs and providing the most appropriate care to patients, which will undoubtedly have a devastating effect on the health and freedom of Arizona women and families. And it’s just not who we are as Arizonans. This backward law may have been written 160 years ago, but it’s going to be reinstated because of politicians who worked to overturn Roe v. Wade and its protections for abortion rights.”

• Senate Candidate and U.S. Representative Ruben Gallego: “This week made it clear that Arizona is ground zero for a fight for our abortion rights…The choice is clear in this election, and it couldn't be any more clearer. Kari Lake wants to ban abortion. I want to protect abortion rights. That's why we're going to win this Senate race, and we're going to codify Roe. We also need Joe Biden and Kamala Harris in the White House to sign that bill when it passes the Senate and protect abortion rights in America once and for all. Arizona is crucial to that plan, and it won't be easy.”

• Senate Candidate Kari Lake: “I wholeheartedly agree with President Trump — this is a very personal issue that should be determined by each individual state and her people. I oppose today’s ruling, and I am calling on Katie Hobbs and the State Legislature to come up with an immediate common-sense solution that Arizonans can support. Ultimately, Arizona voters will make the decision on the ballot come November…I am not going to D.C. to legislate an issue that has been returned to the states.”

Coyotes’ Arizona Future Looks Uncertain

With rumors swirling that a move to Salt Lake City appears imminent, the Arizona Coyotes are set to play their final game in the Valley on Wednesday. While there has been no formal announcement regarding the team’s future in the state, recent reports revealed that Coyotes players were informed of a move to Utah this past weekend. Coyotes Owner Alex Meruelo is expected to sell the team to Utah Jazz Owner Ryan Smith as soon as Thursday, despite a planned meeting between Meruelo and Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego later this month. 

In a pair of letters released by Mayor Gallego’s office on Saturday, Meruelo expressed excitement regarding the “opportunity to build a world-class sports facility and entertainment district in the City of Phoenix.” These comments come as Meruelo simultaneously sought a meeting with Gallego regarding a potential stadium deal in North Phoenix. Just several days later, the National Hockey League’s (NHL) executive committee approved the Coyotes’ move to Utah. 

• Coyotes Owner Alex Meruelo: “There has been a lot of discussion in recent days about the future of the Arizona Coyotes. I understand and empathize with the concerns of our fans, our community, our partners, our players, our front office, and all of our team members. I hope to address these issues as soon as I am able to speak on the topics. We are focused on a myriad of issues that are unresolved, and therefore we are unable to make any official public comments at this time. However, you have my commitment that I am going to speak on all of these issues and publicly address all of your concerns as promptly as possible.”

Other Relevant Headlines

• UArizona presidential search advisory committee announced (April 15, 2024) - “The Arizona Board of Regents announced today the formation of an advisory committee in its search for the 23rd University of Arizona president. The UArizona Presidential Search Advisory Committee – appointed by ABOR Chair Cecilia Mata – includes 18 members comprised of regents and campus community members. The committee will serve as advisors to ABOR as it searches for and decides on the next president.”

• Native American group seeks to overturn US court ruling on Rio's Arizona copper mine (April 15, 2024) - “A Native American group has asked all members of a U.S. appeals court on Monday to overturn an earlier ruling that granted land to Rio Tinto for a copper mine in Arizona, saying the land was sacred and culturally significant. A ruling from a smaller group of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had earlier this month ruled that the federal government may give away thousands of acres in U.S. state Arizona to Rio Tinto and minority partner BHP for the Resolution Copper project.”

• Arizona venture capital investments show signs of strength in Q1  (April 15, 2024) - “The beginning of 2024 brought slight optimism to the venture capital market, but it has not yet translated to ‘meaningful’ growth in deal activity, according to a recent PitchBook report. A persisting slowdown in venture capital deals continued into the first quarter with startups nationwide raising $36.6 billion, marking a 28% decrease from $51.6 billion raised in the prior year quarter, according to the Venture Monitor report, released Thursday by research firm PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association.”

• Reps. Juan Ciscomani and Eli Crane went to Israel as Gaza war rages (April 15, 2024) - “Reps. Juan Ciscomani and Eli Crane traveled to Israel after an Israeli airstrike killed aid workers trying to get food into Gaza as a humanitarian crisis is unfolding in the region. The two Republican freshman House members from Arizona visited the sites of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, including the Nova Music Festival, and religious sites, such as the Western Wall. They also heard from families of former Hamas hostages and met with Israel's political leaders, President Isaac Herzog and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.”

This round-up was written by Jared (JJ) Cichoke. He currently works as a Policy Analyst after previously holding various roles with Senator Martha McSally (R-AZ) and the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs. A graduate of Vanderbilt University, he recently moved to Arizona after spending nearly his entire life in Portland, Oregon.