White House blasts 'devastating' Arizona Supreme Court ruling that upholds near-total abortion ban from 1864

At the White House briefing on Tuesday, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the "devastating and alarming" decision by the Arizona Supreme Court to uphold a 160-year-old law that bans nearly all abortions is "extreme and dangerous."

Video Transcript

KARINE JEAN-PIERRE: So I wanna start by addressing some devastating and alarming news from the Arizona Supreme Court. With today's decision, millions of Arizonans will soon face an even more extreme and dangerous abortion ban than they did before. This Arizona law, which was initially enacted in 1864, more than 150 years ago, fails to protect women even when their health is at risk or in horrific cases of rape or incest.

There are now 21 extreme state abortion bans in effect across the country. One third of all women of reproductive age now live in a state with an abortion ban. And all of these bands, including the one upheld today that was upheld by the Arizona Supreme Court, are a direct result of the Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade. When the president's predecessor handicapped three Supreme Court justices to overturn Roe v Wade, it paved the way for the chaos and confusion we're seeing play out across the country today.

President Biden and Vice President Harris will continue to stand with the vast majority of Americans who support a woman's right to choose. And they will continue to fight to protect reproductive rights and call on Congress to pass a law restoring the protections of Roe v Wade for women in every state.