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Sean Hannity Slammed For Trying To Blame Civil War-Era Arizona Abortion Ban On Democrats
Fox News personality Sean Hannity was criticized after he tried to blame Democrats for a recent Arizona Supreme Court ruling that would almost completely ban abortion in the state.
In his disingenuous remarks, Hannity neglected to acknowledge that the Arizona state Supreme Court has a conservative majority that was expanded and stacked by a Republican governor and that the state legislature is run by a slim Republican majority, which blocked Democrats' attempts earlier in the day to repeal the law.
All in all, his remarks were a hollow effort to cast the blame on the opposition following the Court's validation of an 1864 law criminalizing almost all abortions, which would override the state's existing 15-week abortion ban.
Hannity said:
"The people on the left are so desperate, attacking Trump now for an Arizona Supreme Court ruling that upholds what is a Civil War-era law banning abortion."
"This will be fixed in the next week or two. Let not your heart be troubled. I can pretty much assure that will happen."
"Trump opposes the law and this ruling... And you know what? Arizona's governor is a Democrat. The state's attorney general is a Democrat."
"The state legislature is almost evenly divided. If Democrats–you want to get rid of the law, well, you have a chance right now to get rid of it. And I would advise you, get rid of it."
"They would rather use it as a political tool ahead of November. Most politicians on the left do not actually care about making your life better."
You can hear what Hannity said in the video below.
While Hannity suggested that Trump opposes the ruling, that assertion isn't necessarily accurate.
Trump recently remarked that the ruling had crossed a line, saying that while it is "all about states' rights," he expects Arizona's Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs to "bring it back to within reason."
However, Trump's previous statements in January highlighted his pride in ending the constitutional right to abortion, albeit with a warning about the electoral repercussions for Republicans advocating extreme bans.
Overall, Trump's inconsistency on abortion issues has seen him flip-flop between "pro-choice" and "pro-life" stances to appeal to his conservative base while trying to be politically pragmatic, even though he ultimately bears responsibility for appointing three Supreme Court justices whose votes ultimately overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022.
Hannity's attempt to blame Democrats quickly backfired when Media Matters for America (MMA) Senior fellow Matthew Gertz called out the hypocrisy.
Others echoed these criticisms, pointing to the consequences the GOP will face for their stance on abortion.
Hannity, just a few days prior, cautioned Republicans about the potential political fallout of not supporting exceptions in anti-abortion laws, such as those for rape, incest, or the life of the mother.
Hannity attributed the mishandling of abortion issues to the absence of a predicted Republican "red wave" in the 2022 elections, arguing that if "you are going to take that extreme position, you are going to lose votes."
The Fox personality said it is "political suicide" for Republicans not to allow for these exceptions and stressed the importance for Republican candidates to articulate clear and resolute positions on abortion as they campaign in the upcoming elections.