Kelly Townsend's Reproductive Rights Record
Exceptions
2022: Townsend Voted For A Bill To Ban Abortions After 15 Weeks, With No Exceptions For Rape Or Incest. Townsend voted for SB 1164, which, according to NPR, “The Arizona Legislature on Thursday joined the growing list of Republican-led states to pass aggressive anti-abortion legislation as the conservative U.S. Supreme Court is considering ratcheting back abortion rights that have been in place for nearly 50 years. The House voted on party lines to outlaw abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, mirroring a Mississippi law now being considered by the nation's high court. The bill explicitly says it does not overrule a state law in place for more than 100 years that would ban abortion outright if the Supreme Court overrules Roe v. Wade, the 1973 case that enshrined the right to abortion in law. […] Barto's bill would make it a crime for a doctor to perform an abortion after 15 weeks but would prohibit the prosecution of pregnant people for receiving one. Doctors could face felony charges and lose their license to practice medicine. There is an exception for cases when the mother is at risk of death or serious permanent injury, but not for instances of rape or incest.” [SB 1164, passed 2/15/22; NPR, 3/24/22]
- SB 1164 Would Prosecute Doctors Who Performed Abortions After 15 Weeks. Townsend voted for SB 1164, which, according to NPR, “The Arizona Legislature on Thursday joined the growing list of Republican-led states to pass aggressive anti-abortion legislation as the conservative U.S. Supreme Court is considering ratcheting back abortion rights that have been in place for nearly 50 years. The House voted on party lines to outlaw abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy, mirroring a Mississippi law now being considered by the nation's high court. The bill explicitly says it does not overrule a state law in place for more than 100 years that would ban abortion outright if the Supreme Court overrules Roe v. Wade, the 1973 case that enshrined the right to abortion in law. […] Barto's bill would make it a crime for a doctor to perform an abortion after 15 weeks but would prohibit the prosecution of pregnant people for receiving one. Doctors could face felony charges and lose their license to practice medicine. There is an exception for cases when the mother is at risk of death or serious permanent injury, but not for instances of rape or incest.” [SB 1164, passed 2/15/22; NPR, 3/24/22]
Six Week Ban
Townsend Claimed The Board Chair Of Planned Parenthood Advocates Of Arizona “Wants To Throw A Tantrum And Break Things Because She Cannot Kill Babies After 6 Weeks In TX.”
[Twitter, @AZKellyT, 9/1/21]
Abortion, Generally
In Response To The Claim That Banning Abortions Would Lead To Deaths Among Women Seeking Unsafe Abortions, Townsend Said “Life Is A Series Of Choices, And We Live By The Consequences Thereof.”
[Twitter, @AZKellyT, 9/2/21]
Townsend: “No One Has The Right To Make A Choice For That Child As To Whether They Live Or Die.”
[Twitter, @AZKellyT, 9/1/21]
Townsend Questioned Whether Or Not A Majority Of Arizonans Supported Legal Abortion.
[Twitter, @AZKellyT, 9/1/21]
Townsend Tweeted That She Did Not Support The Death Penalty For “Poor Little Innocent Babies.”
[Twitter, @AZKellyT, 9/1/21]