What Republicans Lost When They Won on Roe

The Run-Up

For decades, the mainstream Republican position on abortion rights was clear: Overturn Roe v. Wade and send the issue back to the states.

But since June 2022, when the Supreme Court’s conservative majority did exactly that, Republicans have faced a question that few seemed to consider beforehand: What comes next?

In Arizona, that question is especially important. In that battleground state, Democratic groups have already mobilized to put a citizen initiative on the November ballot that would enshrine abortion rights in the state’s Constitution and help increase President Biden’s chances at re-election.

So this week, after spending time with organizers who support the ballot measure on the last episode, we are meeting its opponents and exploring the anti-abortion movement in Arizona, which finds itself fractured along new fault lines.

On today’s episode:

Matt Gress, a Republican state representative in Arizona

Jeff Durbin, pastor of Apologia Church, in the greater Phoenix area

Elizabeth Dias, national religion correspondent for The New York Times