PHOENIX — The general election is still nearly three months away but attack ads are already filling the airwaves.
12News recently took two ads attacking Republican Senate Candidate Blake Masters on his views on abortion. We are verifying the claims and where the senate hopeful stands.
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The claim:
Does Master's support a federal abortion with no exceptions?
Where it comes from:
“It's is a religious sacrifice for these people, I think it’s demonic,” the ad quotes Masters.
Masters said those words during a Youtube podcast episode with Allie Beth Stuckey last September.
Around 24 minutes into the interview, Masters starts discussing his stance on abortion.
"I'm unapologetically pro-life," Masters said.
Masters continued that he wants a federal personhood law that would ban abortions after a certain point.
The quote from the ad is part of the interview where Masters criticized how he sees some activists support abortion.
"The abortion thing has turned into this religious totem for the left. In the 90s, they promised they want abortions to be safe, legal, and rare.
And now you have abortion activists wearing shirts with tally marks on how many abortions they've had. This is the cultural thrust of it. It’s is a religious sacrifice for these people, I think it’s demonic.”
“I think the federal government needs to step in so that no state can permit abortion,” an attack ad quotes Masters saying.
What we found:
Recently, Masters clarified his position in an interview with 12News.
Masters said the federal government has a role to play. He supports a federal personhood law that would ban abortions nationwide after the beginning of the third trimester. Masters said the federal law would provide an exception for saving the life of the mother.
12News asked if he would support a federal ban earlier than the 3rd trimester, Masters said that proposal is not realistic.
"I don't think you would even get that passed, I think that's off the table," Masters said, “I would be laser-focused on the third trimester and above—' sorry the state can’t permit abortion."
Another ad paid for by Senate Majority PAC has a woman claiming Masters, "wants to ban all abortions even in cases of rape, incest and the life of the mother."
Under Masters' push for a Federal Personhood law, there would be an exception to save the life of the mother, but there would not be an exception for rape or incest after the third trimester.
Masters does support state rights to further restrict abortion access.
Stance on Arizona abortion law:
Masters indicated he supports Arizona's 15-week abortion ban passed earlier this year but believes a potential territorial law banning abortion is out of touch.
Currently, Arizona's law regarding abortion is unsettled.
Arizona lawmakers passed a law this Spring that would ban abortions after 15 weeks. The law provided no exceptions for rape or incest after 15 weeks. However, it did include exceptions if the mother's life was at risk.
Arizona also has a territorial era abortion ban on the books that bans all abortions, unless it was needed to save the life of the mother.
Currently, which law is in effect is being debated in court.
Masters says the territorial law does not fit with what voters want.
"I think that's way out of step with what the Arizona electorate wants," Masters said. "I think the 15-week ban is reasonable. That's where the electorate is, and I respect that."
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