For lack of a better term, the evening network newscasts pounced- or seized, if you will, upon the Arizona Supreme Court ruling tossing out the state’s 15-week limit on abortion and putting in place the 1864 territorial statute which bans abortion in all instances except to protect the life of the mother. As you can imagine, the focus of all this collective seizing and pouncing was on the potential electoral effects of this ruling.
Most exemplary and most over-the-top, as is usually the case, was ABC’s coverage. After a lengthy lead-in politically framing the story, anchor David Muir jumps back on in order to make sure that correspondent Rachel Scott lets viewers know “what’s at stake”:
DAVID MUIR: So, this is really shaping up to be an issue that could affect the presidential race in November. Rachel Scott back with us tonight covering the race for president. And, of course, not just in Arizona, but how many presidential battlegrounds, these are the key states in the Electoral College, that help decide the presidential race, will have voters not only deciding in the race for president, but weighing in on the issue of abortion rights?
RACHEL SCOTT: David, we could see this issue on the ballot in several battleground states, including Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Nevada. We know that voters in Florida will have the final say on this issue, and that does raise real questions about whether it puts a state like Florida in play for Democrats. We know President Biden's campaign is counting on this issue to drive voters to the polls this November. As for Arizona, the justices putting that ruling on hold for 14 days, as a lower court reviews it. David?
MUIR: Rachel Scott, leading us off from Washington. Rachel, thank you.
It is worth noting that ABC was the sole network Not to feature a pro-life voice. CBS and NBC featured minuscule soundbites from Alliance Defending Freedom, who won their appeal before the state Supreme Court. Perhaps that would’ve cut into the extraneous political analysis but, really, Muir could’ve cut a second and a half worth of “tonights” to make room for a single pro-life sentence.
The coverage echoed common themes across the board: the law dates back to the Civil War, the law was passed before women had the right to vote and, of course, the law will factor into the 2024 election with Arizona being a key battleground state. CBS’s signoff was emphatic about the politics, with Norah O’Donnell expressing shock that some Republicans might be against the 1864 law coming into effect. Did she never cover a pro-abortion Republican while in D.C.?
NANCY CORDES: The Biden campaign is counting on that ballot measure, and others like it, to help drive Democrats to the polls in November. The issue is a proven motivator, which could help explain why several top Republicans in Arizona came out against the Supreme Court ruling today, saying, Norah, that it goes too far and is out of step with the state.
NORAH O’DONNELL: Republicans were denouncing it. Nancy Cordes, thank you.
NBC also emphasized the politics, but had multiple Republicans echoing the “leave it to the states” argument as opposed to just former President Trump.
LAURA JARRETT: This latest court fight over abortion only raising the political stakes in an election year. Arizona, long a Republican stronghold, now the latest state on track to get a constitutional amendment on the November ballot, creating a fundamental right to abortion, if it passes. The vice president also planning to travel to the state for events Friday.
KAMALA HARRIS: You look at state after state where they're passing these abortion bans and the majority of the legislators doing it are men, telling women what to do with their body. And I've kind of- I’ve kind of had it with that.
JARRETT: While the former president and many GOP lawmakers continue to avoid talk of a national abortion ban. Instead, backing state-level restrictions.
DONALD TRUMP: Some states are taking conservative views, and some are less than conservative, but it's back with the states. It's back with the people.
JOSH HAWLEY: The Supreme Court has turned it back over to voters. We've got to let voters sort through this.
In the end, the media went yet again into “Protect the Precious” mode. Expect much more of this as abortion continues to hit state ballots.
Click “expand” to view full transcripts of the aforementioned evening network newscasts as aired on Tuesday, April 9th, 2024:
ABC WORLD NEWS TONIGHT:
DAVID MUIR: But we do begin tonight with the shockwaves in Arizona, after that state's Supreme Court has now upheld an abortion law dating back to 1864, criminalizing all abortions, except those to save the mother's life. In their decision, the Arizona justices referred repeatedly to the U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe versus Wade. Their decision on hold for 14 days, pending a lower court review. Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, saying the ruling creates more chaos for women and doctors in her state. A doctor who performs an abortion could get up to five years in prison. She says voters will have their say in November. Arizona, of course, is a key battleground in the race for president this November, and the question already, how could this decision now affect the presidential race? ABC's Rachel Scott leading us off tonight.
RACHEL SCOTT: Tonight, Arizona's highest court upholding a 160-year-old abortion ban. One of the strictest in the country. A law written in 1864, before Arizona was even a state, and before women had the right to vote. It outlaws nearly all abortions. The only exception, to protect the life of the mother. Tonight, outrage from Arizona's Democratic Governor, Katie Hobbs.
KATIE HOBBS: And the near total Civil War-era ban that continues to hang over our heads only serves to create more chaos for women and doctors in our state.
SCOTT: Under the law, doctors who perform abortions could face up to five years in prison. Frustration from Arizona lawmaker Eva Birch, who recently had an abortion after her pregnancy failed.
EVA BIRCH: A couple weeks ago, I had an abortion. A safe, legal abortion here in Arizona for a pregnancy that I very much wanted. Somebody took care of me. Somebody gave me a procedure so I wouldn't have to experience another miscarriage. The pain, the mess, the discomfort. And now we're talking about whether or not we should put that doctor in jail.
SCOTT: In today's ruling, the Arizona court referring 22 times to the U.S. Supreme Court's decision overturning Roe versus Wade. Donald Trump has boasted of appointing three of the six justices who overturned Roe. Yesterday, he said states should make their own laws when it comes to abortion.
DONALD TRUMP: The states will determine by vote or legislation or perhaps both. And whatever they decide must be the law of the land. In this case, the law of the state.
SCOTT: President Biden says that means that Trump supports state bans like the one in Arizona, which Biden today called "extreme," "dangerous," and “cruel." Biden and Trump both know that abortion rights has won in all six states where it has been on the ballot, including in conservative states like Kansas, Kentucky, and Ohio. This November, voters could decide in 14 states, and one of them is Arizona, a key presidential battleground. Tonight, the governor with this message:
HOBBS: To the people across Arizona who are concerned about the future of abortion rights in our state, you can make your concerns known at the ballot box, and I encourage you to do so.
MUIR: So, this is really shaping up to be an issue that could affect the presidential race in November. Rachel Scott back with us tonight covering the race for president. And, of course, not just in Arizona, but how many presidential battlegrounds, these are the key states in the Electoral College, that help decide the presidential race, will have voters not only deciding in the race for president, but weighing in on the issue of abortion rights?
SCOTT: David, we could see this issue on the ballot in several battleground states, including Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Nevada. We know that voters in Florida will have the final say on this issue, and that does raise real questions about whether it puts a state like Florida in play for Democrats. We know President Biden's campaign is counting on this issue to drive voters to the polls this November. As for Arizona, the justices putting that ruling on hold for 14 days, as a lower court reviews it. David?
MUIR: Rachel Scott, leading us off from Washington. Rachel, thank you.
CBS EVENING NEWS:
NORAH O’DONNELL: But we do want to begin tonight with a major abortion ruling that once again is putting the issue at the forefront of the 2024 presidential campaign. Arizona's Supreme Sourt today ruled that a 160 year old near total abortion ban is still enforceable. The law dates back to 1864, on the books since before Arizona was a state and before women had the right to vote. Arizona will be the 18th state to severely restrict or outright ban the procedure since Roe vs. Wade was overturned in 2022. The decision comes the day after former President Donald Trump claimed he doesn't support a federal ban. But today, President Biden said Trump is directly to blame for the ruling, calling the decision extreme and dangerous. CBS's Nancy Cordes reports now on the fallout.
KATIE HOBBS: It is a dark day in Arizona.
NANCY CORDES: Arizona's Democratic governor begged the Legislature to step in today after the state's conservative Supreme Court reinstated a Civil War-era abortion ban, with no exceptions for rape or incest. The author of the 4-2 decision wrote, “physicians are now on notice that all abortions, except those necessary to save a woman's life, are illegal.”, with doctors facing a 2-5 year mandatory prison sentence.
HOBBS: We are 14 days away from this extreme ban coming back to life. It must be repealed. Immediately.
CORDES: The decision does away with the state's current 15-week ban, which anti abortion rights activists had challenged in court.
JAKE WARNER: It's always the best decision to protect life as much as possible.
CORDES: Arizona is now poised to join 17 other states that have imposed near-total abortion bans since Roe v. Wade was struck down. But unlike many of those states, Arizona is a pivotal swing state that went for President Biden in 2020. The state's Democratic AG announced today, “as long as I am Attorney General, no woman or doctor will be prosecuted under this draconian law.”
Does that give doctors the certainty they need to keep performing abortions if they feel they need to?
CHRIS LOVE: Well, I think that medical providers are going to have to weigh their options and their risks with their own legal counsel, quite frankly.
CORDES: Chris Love helps lead Arizona For Abortion Access, a group that has already gathered half a million signatures for a November state ballot measure that would establish a constitutional right to an abortion.
LOVE: We have told Arizona voters what's at stake. I think today is a clear example that we were being serious about that, right?
CORDES: The Biden campaign is counting on that ballot measure, and others like it, to help drive Democrats to the polls in November. The issue is a proven motivator, which could help explain why several top Republicans in Arizona came out against the Supreme Court ruling today, saying, Norah, that it goes too far and is out of step with the state.
O’DONNELL: Republicans were denouncing it. Nancy Cordes, thank you.
NBC NIGHTLY NEWS:
LESTER HOLT: Good evening. A new aftershock from the repeal of Roe v. Wade is rocking the abortion landscape in this country tonight. The Arizona Supreme Court ruled today that a near total abortion ban on the books in Arizona since the Civil War is enforceable under the long-dormant 1864 law, abortion is a felony. Performing or assisting a woman with having one is punishable by imprisonment. An exception is carved out to save a mother's life. Tonight the Arizona court is putting its ruling on hold for 14 days, but already Arizona's Democratic attorney general is vowing to not enforce the law. Tonight, anti-abortion activists are gearing for a long fight as pro-abortion rights groups look toward taking the matter to the voters in the form of a constitutional amendment. Laura Jarrett has late details.
LAURA JARRETT: Tonight, a legal fight over abortion in a critical battleground state fanning the flames of a political fire gaining ground towards November. Arizona's highest court today backing a law that bans nearly all abortions and carries up to five years in prison for doctors who perform one. The conservative majority on the Court reviving an 1864 law that lay dormant for decades under Roe v. Wade.
BETH BAUMAN: Are you kidding me? 1864 was before women even had the right to vote. We are totally going backwards. It's unbelievable.
JARRETT: 66-year-old Arizona resident Beth Bauman fighting back tears.
BAUMAN: I'm devastated. I just- Ididn't think that they would do this. I really didn't.
JARRETT: Yet the state's Democratic attorney general says she won't enforce the law.
KRIS MAYES: It is one of the worst decisions in the history of the Arizona Supreme Court. No woman or doctor will be prosecuted under this draconian law. I will fight like hell.
GABRIELLE GOODRICK: It does give me comfort…
JARRETT: Some reassurance in a time of uncertainty, says Dr. Gabrielle Goodrick, who has practiced in the state for over two decades.
GOODRICK: I don't know what the law will be. It is so early to know how that's going to play out.
JARRETT: Is today's decision a win for your side?
JIM CAMPBELL: It is….
JARRETT: The advocacy group Alliance Defending Freedom says the existing 15-week law doesn't go far enough. And even if the state AG won't enforce a stricter ban, other prosecutors still can.
CAMPBELL: It's our position that county attorneys have the authority to enforce this law.
JARRETT: This latest court fight over abortion only raising the political stakes in an election year. Arizona, long a Republican stronghold, now the latest state on track to get a constitutional amendment on the November ballot, creating a fundamental right to abortion, if it passes. The vice president also planning to travel to the state for events Friday.
KAMALA HARRIS: You look at state after state where they're passing these abortion bans and the majority of the legislators doing it are men, telling women what to do with their body. And I've kind of- I’ve kind of had it with that.
JARRETT: While the former president and many GOP lawmakers continue to avoid talk of a national abortion ban. Instead, backing state-level restrictions.
DONALD TRUMP: Some states are taking conservative views, and some are less than conservative, but it's back with the states. It's back with the people.
JOSH HAWLEY: The Supreme Court has turned it back over to voters. We've got to let voters sort through this.
HOLT: So Laura, as this stands, this could go into effect in 14 days?
JARRETT: Well, the court allowed additional challenges to go forward, Lester, but if those fail, the law still allows some additional time baked into that. So at the earliest, this law will go into effect in roughly two months, Lester.
HOLT: All right, Laura. Thanks very much.
