2024 Election Live Updates: Arizona Awaits Major Abortion Ruling

A day after former President Donald J. Trump dominated headlines with a statement declaring that abortion policy should be left to states, the issue will continue to be at the forefront of the country's political discussion.

On Tuesday, the Arizona Supreme Court will announce a decision in a potentially landmark case regarding abortion rights in the state. It will either maintain the state's current 15-week ban or revert to an 1864 law that would ban almost all abortions.

The ruling could have significant implications for elections in a battleground state. Proponents of an abortion ballot measure are likely to succeed in putting before voters a proposed constitutional amendment that would enshrine the right to an abortion before feasibility, i.e. after about 24 weeks. Democrats hope the measure will give them an advantage in the November election.

Mr. Trump's announcement on Monday came after months of mixed signals on the issue of abortion and was light on details — for example, he sidestepped the question of whether he would sign a federal abortion ban if elected to a second term. And while he claimed that Republicans are “now free” to focus on more politically favorable issues, his statement exposed fault lines within his party and provoked attacks from President Biden and other Democrats.

He had suggested he would support a 15-week federal abortion ban, and Republicans supporting a nationwide ban seized on the apparent reversal. Former Vice President Mike Pence called the statement a “slap in the face.” Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the leading anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, said she was “deeply disappointed.” And Senator Lindsey Graham said he disagreed with Mr. Trump, namely he would continue to push for a national ban.

The former president took to social media in hopes of quelling this dissent. He responded with a fiery stream of posts on Truth Social, singling out Ms. Dannenfelser and Mr. Graham while attacking conservative “hardliners” who he said are making it “impossible” for Republicans to win elections. Other Republicans in Congress, even those who had supported legislation for a national ban, soon rallied behind the former president.

President Biden pounced on Mr. Trump's announcement, particularly his boast that he was “proudly the one responsible for eliminating the constitutional right to abortion” by appointing three of the Supreme Court justices who voted for it would have, Roe v. to overthrow Wade in 2022. Biden's campaign unleashed a barrage of attacks against Mr. Trump's new abortion stance. A blistering ad was released blaming Trump for the near-death of a Texas woman who was denied an abortion.

“Donald Trump just endorsed every single government ban on reproductive health care across the country,” Mr. Biden said in another video posted on social media, adding: “Donald Trump is the reason Roe v. Wade was terminated.”

On Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Biden will give a speech in Washington on child care and family health care. A prepared interview with the president will air Tuesday night on Univision.