Abe Hamadeh had a clear position on abortion in 2022: enforce the law, whatever it says, full stop.
The law said women in Arizona could be jailed for getting an abortion. Hamadeh was running for attorney general and pledged to enforce it.
Two years later, that same ban was back in the headlines — and Hamadeh wanted nothing to do with it.
THE PLEDGE
During his 2022 campaign for Arizona attorney general, Hamadeh made his position on abortion crystal clear.
When asked about Arizona’s near-total abortion ban — a law dating back to 1864 that criminalized nearly all abortions — Hamadeh stated: “I currently agree with Gen. Brnovich’s decision that the law is the law. I don’t want to make the law. That’s the job of the legislature. I enforce the law.”
The law. The 1864 law. The near-total ban.
Hamadeh was ready to enforce it.
THE FLIP
In April 2024, the Arizona Supreme Court reinstated that same 1864 near-total abortion ban, ruling it was valid and enforceable.
Suddenly, Hamadeh’s campaign had a very different message. His team called the ruling “a complete win for Democrats.” The effects, they said, wouldn’t “actually going to be that significant.”
According to NBC News, political strategists noted that Hamadeh “barely mentioned the abortion ban at all” during the primary — preferring to emphasize Trump loyalty and border security instead.
TWO YEARS. ZERO CONSISTENCY.
In 2022: The law is the law. I enforce it.
In 2024: This is a win for Democrats. It won’t matter much.
The only thing that changed was the political weather. Hamadeh could feel which way it was blowing. Arizona voters were furious about the 1864 ban. A ballot measure to protect abortion rights was heading to the November ballot.
So Hamadeh stopped talking about the abortion ban he had once promised to enforce.
That’s not a principled position. That’s a politician covering his tracks.