“I consider myself a true Republican. We always referred to Biden and Kamala as 'corpses and cacklers' in our house.” “I'm a lifelong Republican – with smaller government, lower taxes and no interference in our lives.” “I grew up in the Reagan era and Reagan was a hero in my homeland. So he was my hero.” “I think these days you really can't say that someone who's pro-choice has to be liberal.” Abortion is changing the Republican Party in this election. Here in Arizona, nearly a third of Republicans say they will support Proposition 139, a state ballot measure that would legalize abortion up to about 24 weeks. “I would say 20 years ago that definitely wouldn't have been the case.” We spoke to 3 long-time Republican Party supporters about how the top of Roe v. Wade affects their vote. “I grew up very Catholic. I have never known anyone who had an abortion. I don't think I said the word out loud until after I got married.” “When I heard Roe was overturned, I wasn't particularly surprised. Our state law reverted to the previous law from 1864.” “No one could quite believe it. I mean, it really came so quickly.” The 1864 law was passed in the course of the Civil War, when Arizona was still a territory, and imposed a near-total ban on abortion. “Even conservatives in Arizona thought it made little sense.” The law was repealed in May and a ban was imposed after 15 weeks. But it caused some Arizonans to reconsider their stance on abortion. “I had to stop and think: How do I feel about this? What could be the possible impacts? And the more I read, the more news I watched, the more afraid I became for women. I am a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I am a mother of 10 children and a grandmother. While I believe in the sanctity of life, I just don't believe it's my right to choose someone else.” “I think when people go through something like this, it's probably the most painful decision they've ever made have. I was a delegate to the 2016 convention, and the day we had the vote in Arizona to go to convention, I realized I was bleeding. It turned out that I was somehow pregnant and it had started. I went to the doctor and had to have a D&C done. Let's assume the 1864 law was in force. Would they have allowed me to have a D&C? Would they have investigated me? I voted for Trump in 2016; I voted for Trump in 2020, but I will not vote for him again.” “President Trump is proud of his dismantling of Roe v. Wade. It doesn’t serve women well. It doesn't serve the country well. And that's why I can't support that and I would say to my friends: If Prop 139 is your problem, I don't see how you could support candidate Trump.” “I will always be a Republican. I listen to NPR in the mornings, it reminds me every day why I'm a Republican, but I can't imagine voting for either party at this point, for neither party.” “I'm going to vote for Kamala Harris. I did phone banking once and will do it again. This time I think a lot of Arizonans feel, and I feel, that our voice actually counts.”
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