Arizona GOP Senate Candidate Kari Lake Says It’s ‘Unfortunate’ 1864 Abortion Ban Isn’t Being Enforced, Flip-flopping Her Position For Second Time

Republican Arizona Senate Candidate Kari Lake has flipped her position on the state’s 1864 abortion ban – for a second time, stating that it is “unfortunate” that Arizona is not enforcing the law.

On April 9, the Arizona Supreme Court issued a ruling to reinstate the ban, which resulted in instant position changes among Republicans who previously backed it, including Lake.

The Court overturned a 2022 law that permitted abortions up to 15 weeks, clearing the way for an 1864 ban that forbids the procedure except when needed to save the mother’s life.

The state’s highest Court first heard arguments on the case in December 2023 after the Arizona Court of Appeals determined that the two inconsistent abortion bans needed to be in harmony.

In a 4-2 decision, the justices said that the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the federal law that safeguarded abortion rights until viability, meant that there was no longer a legal barrier to enforcing the nearly two-century ban. The Court ruled that the law could be implemented within two weeks, and the parties involved could raise more constitutional concerns with a lower court during this period.

Like the 1864 law, the 15-week ban does not have exceptions for rape or even incest. 

Lake, who previously lauded the 1864 ban as a “great law,” opposed the decision and asked the state legislature to find an “immediate common-sense solution that Arizonans can support.”

“This total ban on abortion that the Arizona Supreme Court has ruled on is out of line with where the people of this state are,” she mentioned in a video posted on X on April 11.

“I agree with President [Donald Trump]; we must have exceptions for rape, incest, and the life of a mother,” Lake then stated. “The issue is less about banning abortion and more about saving babies.”

“We, as American people, don’t agree on everything all of the time,” the GOP Senate candidate added. “But if you look at where the population lies on this – a full ban on abortion – is not where the people are.”

Later on in the video, Lake argued that “the issue is less about banning abortion and more about saving babies – and we can do that. We are only as strong as our greatest institution – which is the family.”

However, just two weeks later, Lake said in an interview that she supported the total ban.

“The Arizona Supreme Court said this is the law of Arizona,” the Arizona GOP Senate candidate stated during an interview with Idaho Dispatch. “But unfortunately, the people running our state have said we’re not going to enforce it. We don’t have that law, as much as many of us wish we did.”

Last week, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) signed a bill to overturn the 1869 ban.

In March, Lake’s attorneys announced that she will not contest the defamation case filed against her.

The lawsuit, initiated by Maricopa County Recorder Stephen Richer in 2023, accuses the GOP Senate candidate defamed him after her defeat in the 2022 Arizona gubernatorial race, where she declined to concede and made accusations of election fraud.

On April 14, Lake gave a fiery speech to her supporters in Lake Havasu City. In it, she advised them to prepare for the upcoming 2024 campaign – and “strap on a Glock,” a request that critics said was an invitation to violence.