Last Week This Morning: Senator Burch’s abortion story
Good morning, Rj! Happy Sunday! ☀️
Affordable Care Act turns 14. Saturday marked the 14th anniversary of the Affordable Care Act, which has helped to expand access to health care and lower costs for millions of Americans since it was signed into law by former president Barack Obama in 2010. The landmark legislation allows young adults to stay on their parent’s insurance until age 26, prevents insurance companies from denying coverage or charging more based on medical history, guarantees coverage for birth control at no out-of-pocket cost, and more. 2024 marks a historic enrollment period for the ACA — over 21 million Americans signed up for health care coverage through the program!
Trump is too broke to come to AZ. His campaign just canceled yet another trip to Arizona, allegedly due to financial struggles as a result of his legal troubles. He owes hundreds of millions of dollars for various lawsuits and fines after being found guilty of fraud and defamation. Trump has not visited Arizona in over 18 months, and this isn’t the first time he’s canceled an event here. In January, he scrapped another visit that the (very broke) AZGOP had hoped to fundraise off. Trump is significantly trailing the Biden campaign in fundraising, a problem made worse by using millions of dollars in contributions to pay his legal fees. His campaign has also left a long list of unpaid invoices owed to various Arizona cities from previous visits.
House Republicans want to cut your benefits. Last week, a group of GOP lawmakers released a budget proposal that includes cuts to Social Security, the ACA, Medicare, and many other programs working families count on. The plan would also ban abortion and restrict IVF. The group of 176 House Republicans also want to make Trump’s tax cut for the ultra-wealthy permanent. This is the extremist and unpopular agenda that Reps. Juan Ciscomani, David Schweikert, Debbie Lesko, and Paul Gosar support.
Anti-democracy lawmakers ask voters to ban early voting.HCR2032 would ban early voting by mail, limit early voting in person, and restrict vote centers, which allow Arizonans to vote at any polling place in their county that is most convenient for them. The proposal is designed to go around Gov. Hobbs, and will instead be added to the November ballot if it passes. It’s yet another example of MAGA legislators who are using their power to create laws based on election conspiracy theories rather than what voters actually want. The fact is, early voting by mail has been used for decades in Arizona and is used by 80% of Arizona voters. Learn more about the attack on early voting here.
State Senator Eva Burch shared her abortion story. In a moving speech on the floor of the Arizona Legislature, Burch announced her decision to have an abortion and condemned the cruel abortion laws in our state that restrict access to care.
Collect signatures for the abortion initiative. Join the effort to get abortion on the ballot in November. Sign up to volunteer here.
Thanks for reading Last Week, This Morning! ☕️
Abigail with Progress Arizona