For decades, the mainstream Republican position on abortion rights was clear: Overturn Roe v. Wade and send the issue back to the states.

But since June 2022, when the Supreme Court’s conservative majority did exactly that, Republicans have faced a question that few seemed to consider beforehand: What comes next?

In Arizona, that question is especially important. In that battleground state, Democratic groups have already mobilized to put a citizen initiative on the November ballot that would enshrine abortion rights in the state’s Constitution and help increase President Biden’s chances at re-election.

So this week, after spending time with organizers who support the ballot (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/13/podcasts/arizona-abortion-election.html) measure on the last episode, we are meeting its opponents and exploring the anti-abortion movement in Arizona, which finds itself fractured along new fault lines. 

On today’s episode:

Matt Gress (https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/25/us/abortion-ban-arizona.html) , a Republican state representative in Arizona

Jeff Durbin (https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/01/us/abortion-abolitionists.html) , pastor of Apologia Church, in the greater Phoenix area

Elizabeth Dias (https://www.nytimes.com/by/elizabeth-dias) , national religion correspondent for The New York Times