Indicted Arizona GOP Senator Compares Abortion Ban Repeal To Holocaust
The State Senate debate on the bill to repeal the 1864 abortion ban in Arizona went completely off the rails on Wednesday, with several extremist Republicans giving rambling and at times horrifying comments in defense of an abortion ban that was passed in 1864.
Even though the final vote of 16-14 had been tallied, with two Republicans joining all Democrats in voting to repeal the ban, rules of the Arizona Senate allow members to give floor speeches to explain their votes for unlimited periods of time. The result was a mini-filibuster that delayed certification of the vote for over an hour, with all Republican members speaking at length against reproductive freedom.
One of the most egregious speeches came from Anthony Kern, a Republican who was just indicted for being a fake elector in Donald Trump's attempted coup to steal Arizona's electoral votes. After calling the 19th century pre-statehood ban "the best abortion ban in the country," Kern compared its repeal to the holocaust.
"We have two Republicans voting with the Democrats to repeal an abortion ban while saying 'I'm pro-life,'" Kern said. "That's kinda like Nazi Germany where the Nazis said, 'Jews you have something wrong with you, you go to the death chamber, you [other] Jews can work the field.'"
Kern was indicted in April along with Rudy Giuliani and several others as co-conspirators in Donald Trump's plan to steal the presidential election in Arizona by presenting an alternate slate of pro-Trump electors for certification in Congress. Kern was sworn in as one of the Trump electors and signed a fake certification of Trump's victory in the state.
Kern then fundraised off his indictment with an email that read, "When President Trump Called For My Aid, I Answered. My reward? A crooked Democrat Attorney General prosecuting me with 9 fabricated felonies."
"If they lock Trump and me up…You all will be next," the email continues, going on to ask for campaign donations.
Kern was also present at the Capitol on January 6th, appearing in footage walking amongst insurrectionists on the steps at the west front of the Capitol. He later participated as a lawmaker in overseeing a recount of Maricopa County ballots from the 2020 election.
Kern is running for Congress to fill the seat vacated by Republican Debbie Lesko who resigned from Congress last year. Also running are Trump darlings Blake Masters and Abe Hamadeh. Kern is currently polling at 3% in the race according to a poll taken at the end of April by the conservative group American Principles Project.
Kern touted his MAGA credentials in a candidate forum in March by saying, "I was a Trump elector. I have a really good conservative track record. I was there on January 6. I’m just in the fight."
After an incredibly horrific and graphic section of his speech describing what takes place during an abortion, Kern delivered a rambling rant against the Democratic party, accusing them of pedophilia for hosting a drag brunch at the state capitol in Phoenix.
"Righteousness exalts a nation. We, as Republicans gave up on the marriage issue. What does the Bible say about marriage? Now we are being asked to give up on the life issue," Kern said. "And I guarantee you it will be the pedophilia issue next. Because that is already here as was evidenced yesterday in the Arizona House of Representatives."
"It's coming. And the reason why all this is coming is because we have no moral foundation...America we are definitely in a downslide as we all know...our only hope is Jesus Christ."
Kern is moralizing against reproductive freedom as an indicted felon who actively took part in a treasonous coup against the United States and an insurrection that injured hundreds of cops and threatened the lives of members of Congress. He is the epitome of MAGA Republicans in 2024.
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs signed the repeal of the 1864 abortion ban on Thursday.
