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Arizona Republican gubernatorial nominee Kari Lake blasted her Democrat opponent’s extreme abortion stance at a town hall on Tuesday.
Noting that her challenger, Democrat Secretary of State Katie Hobbs, supports abortion through nine months gestation, Lake said, “I think everyone in this room would agree that nine months into pregnancy is too late to have an abortion.”
Lake made the comment when asked to address Hobbs’ assertion that the Trump endorsee would “put women in prison” for undergoing a dilation and curettage procedure, also commonly referred to as a “D and C.”
The procedure, though often used during early-term abortions, may also be used to clear the uterine lining following a miscarriage or to confirm an ectopic pregnancy.
“To equate an abortion with a miscarriage is sick,” Lake said. “Any woman who has had a miscarriage wants that baby so bad. To equate that with an abortion is sick. I would never keep a D and C procedure from a woman having an ectopic pregnancy or a miscarriage.”
Also criticizing her opponent’s refusal to face her in a debate, the former news anchor said she believed Hobbs was trying to deflect attention from her own extreme position on abortion.
“They think I’m controversial because I’m pro-life, [but] she actually voted against a bill that would have required that a baby who survived an abortion get medical treatment,” Lake noted. “She voted against that – she wants that baby to die on a cold, metal medical tray. This is controversial. This is outrageous, and I will not sit here and have the media, who’s doing bidding for Katie Hobbs, tell me that she’s got a great plan when it comes to abortion.”
Blake Masters, Arizona’s Republican nominee for U.S. Senate, echoed Lake’s opinion on Hobbs’ motives as he responded to the Democrat’s claims on Twitter.
“What a vile lie,” he wrote. “You know Kari fully supports that kind of medical care. All Republicans do. Democrats have to lie like this because they have nothing else to run on, only failure. In Katie’s case, complete incompetence and court judgments against her for racial discrimination.”
Following the Supreme Court’s landmark Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling in June that abortion is not a constitutional right, the national abortion debate has heated up as states have moved to increase restrictions on the life-ending procedure.
This week, per ABC15, a Pima County, Arizona, judge is considering whether to lift an injunction on a near-total abortion ban that was granted following the Supreme Court’s 1973 ruling on Roe v. Wade. If the injunction is lifted, all abortions in the state would be banned, save those performed to save the life of the mother. However, if the injunction stays in place, a new 15-week abortion ban is set to take effect on Saturday.
Meanwhile, at the national level, a bill introduced last week by Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., would ban abortions nationwide after 15 weeks gestation, except for situations involving rape, incest, or risks to the life of the mother.
As the nation continues to adjust to life in the post-Roe era, the debate over the legality and morality of abortion is likely to persist for years to come.