Split reflects GOP’s identity crisis, as Republican politicians struggle to talk about increasingly toxic issue for them

Republicans are nearly evenly divided over the Arizona supreme court’s decision to uphold an 1864 law that would ban almost all abortions, new polling shows.

Forty-nine per cent of Republicans strongly or somewhat disapprove of the decision, while 46% of Republicans strongly or somewhat approve of it, according to polling of more than 1,000 likely voters released on Tuesday by the left-leaning thinktank Data for Progress. That split reflects the GOP’s identity crisis over post-Roe v Wade abortion politics, as Republican politicians have struggled to talk about an issue that was once their bread-and-butter but has become increasingly toxic for them.

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Number of people seeking permanent contraception increased after 2022 decision, in particular among women, research reveals

Rates of people seeking permanent contraception – such as tubal ligation or vasectomies – shot up after the supreme court overturned Roe v Wade in 2022, in the Dobbs decision.

Although both procedures increased, the rate of increase was double for tubal ligations, commonly known as a woman getting her “tubes tied”.

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Far-right US Senate candidate joins Republicans who have decried state supreme court ruling but who blocked appeal effort

Kari Lake, the far-right US Senate candidate and Donald Trump ally, denounced Arizona’s abortion ban on Thursday, arguing that the strict legislation she previously praised does not have the support of the state’s residents.

“This total ban on abortion the Arizona supreme court just ruled on is out of line with where the people of this state are,” she said in a video on Thursday. “I agree with President Trump – this is such a personal and private issue.”

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Republicans haven’t ‘moderated’ their extreme stance on abortion, but much of the media is eager to give that impression

Sometimes, in 2024 America, you have to pinch yourself to make sure you’re not in a long-running dystopian nightmare. Then again, maybe we all are. And no amount of pinching will help.

Two scenes from this week stand out.

Margaret Sullivan is a Guardian US columnist writing on media, politics and culture

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Democrats stymied after state supreme court rules that 1864 law with no exceptions for rape or incest can go into effect

Arizona’s state Republican leadership halted an effort by Democrats on Wednesday to repeal an 1864 law banning almost all abortions, which the state supreme court this week ruled could go into effect.

The move came after Republican lawmakers in the state had denounced the court’s decision, including some who previously expressed support for the law. Donald Trump and other high-profile Republicans, such as the Senate candidate Kari Lake, had also declared their opposition to the ruling with Lake urging lawmakers to “come up with an immediate commonsense solution that Arizonans can support”.

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Kari Lake among GOP members condemning state supreme court ruling as party flails over abortion politics in election year

• Arizona Republicans denounce revived 1864 abortion ban in sudden reversal

Arizona’s Democratic attorney general, Kris Mayes, vowed not to prosecute any doctors or women under the 1864 ban.

Speaking in a news conference after the court’s decision was published, Mayes said:

No woman or doctor will be prosecuted under this draconian law … as long as I am attorney general. Not by me, nor by any county attorney serving in our state. Not on my watch.

Today’s decision to reimpose a law from a time when Arizona wasn’t a state, the Civil War was raging, and women couldn’t even vote will go down in history as a stain on our state.

I’ve personally experienced the anguish of losing a pregnancy and I know it’s outrageous to have the government tell you that the best decision for your health or future could now be considered a crime. I will not stop fighting until we have fully secured the right to reproductive healthcare in our state.

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The UK branch of the Alliance Defending Freedom has increased its spending and is forging ties with key MPs

A rightwing Christian lobby group that wants abortion to be banned has forged ties with an adviser to the prime minister and is drawing up ­policy briefings for politicians.

The UK branch of the US-based Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF) has more than doubled its spending since 2020 and been appointed a stakeholder in a parliamentary group on religious freedoms in a role that grants it direct access to MPs.

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Marilyn Lands elected to state legislature in deep red state by significant margin after centering reproductive rights in campaign

• Alabama surprise Democratic victory – live updates

An Alabama Democrat who campaigned against the state’s near-total abortion ban has won a special election to the state legislature, a stark signal that reproductive rights is a potent issue for Democratic candidates, even in the deep south.

Marilyn Lands won the state house seat on Tuesday, defeating Teddy Powell, a Republican, by 63% to 37%. Lands, a licensed professional counselor, previously ran for the seat in 2022 and lost by 7% to David Cole, a Republican who resigned last year after pleading guilty to voter fraud.

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Report claims posts on abortion and contraception have been deleted while misinformation on the feeds of social media users in Africa, Latin America and Asia has not been tackled

Meta and Google are accused in a new report of obstructing information on abortion and reproductive healthcare across Africa, Latin America and Asia.

MSI Reproductive Choices (formerly Marie Stopes International) and the Center for Countering Digital Hate claim the platforms are restricting local abortion providers from advertising, but failing to tackle misinformation that undermines public access to reproductive healthcare.

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