Video: They were loyal Republicans – until Trump and the abortion ban

“I consider myself an original Republican. We used to call Biden and Kamala in our house the ‘corpse and the cockroach.’” “I’m a lifelong Republican – smaller government, lower taxes, not interfering in our lives.” “I grew up in the Reagan era and Reagan was a hero in my home. So he was my hero.” “I don’t think you can say nowadays that if someone is pro-choice, they must also be liberal.” Abortion is changing the Republican Party this election. Here in Arizona, nearly a third of Republicans say they will support Proposition 139, a state ballot measure that would make abortion legal until about 24 weeks. “I would say that this would absolutely not have been the case 20 years ago.” We spoke to three longtime Republican Party supporters about how the end of Roe v. Wade is changing their vote. “I grew up very Catholic. I have never known anyone who has had an abortion. I don’t think I said the word out loud until after I got married.’ “When I heard that Roe was being overturned, I wasn’t very surprised. Our state law reverted to the previous law, which dated back to 1864.” “Nobody could quite believe it. I mean, it really came so quickly.” The 1864 law, passed during the Civil War when Arizona was still a territory, was a near-total ban on abortion. “Even conservatives in Arizona thought it didn’t make much sense.” The law was overturned in May and a ban was introduced after fifteen weeks. But it caused some Arizonans to reconsider their stance on abortion. “I had to stop and think: how do I feel about it? What could be the possible consequences? And the more I read, the more news stories I saw, the more afraid I became of 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. I do believe in the sanctity of life, but I just don’t believe it is my right to choose someone else.” “I think when people go through this, it’s probably the most painful decision they’ve ever made. I was a delegate to the 2016 convention, and the day we voted in Arizona to go to the convention, I realized I was bleeding. Turns out I was somehow pregnant and it had come loose. I went to the doctor and had to have a D&C. Let’s say the 1864 law was in effect. Would they have allowed me a D&C? Would they have investigated me? 2016, I voted for Trump; I voted for Trump in 2020, but I won’t vote for him again.” “President Trump is proud of his dismantling of Roe v. Wade. It’s not good for women. It does not serve the country well. And so I can’t support it and I would say to friends of mine, 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 morning, it reminds me every day why I’m a Republican, but I can’t see myself voting for either of them or either party right now.” “I’m going to vote for Kamala Harris. I did phone banking once and I will do it again. This time around, I think a lot of Arizonans feel that way, and I feel like our vote really counts.