After the Roe decision was announced, Republican Governor of Arizona Doug Ducey tweeted, "Roe v Wade was a poorly-reasoned ruling that had no Constitutional basis. The Supreme Court has made the right decision by finally overturning it and giving governing power back to the people and the states. I am proud that Arizona has been ranked the most pro-life state in the country. Here, we will continue to cherish life and protect it in every way possible."
People immediately clapped back at this utterly ludicrous claim. One person cited a Children's Action Alliance article that shows exactly how hypocritical it is for Ducey to claim Arizona as the most 'pro-life state in the country': "In Arizona, 15% of children live in high poverty areas compared with the national average of 9%, and in 2019, 9% of Arizona children are without health insurance compared with the national average of 6%." Others cited Arizona's dire COVID statistics from the AZDHS—30,452 dead and 2,109,053 cases thus far—which many blame on Ducey's inaction and ineffectiveness regarding COVID mitigation strategies (and more specifically, the lack thereof). Others cited a study from 2019 from the Annie E. Casey foundation that found that Arizona is one of the worst states in the US for the health and well-being of children. And a Twitter user named Neem tweeted, "Your son made me take plan b after we hooked up but carry on." I don't know if this last point is true, but if so, hypocritical much, Duceys?
Meanwhile, on Friday night at the march for reproductive freedom in Phoenix capitol that I attended, police pepper sprayed the peaceful protestors, an inclusive all-ages crowd that included children and babies. Maybe Ducey should sit this one out.
