Trump quickly learns 'state's rights' isn't an easy answer thanks to Arizona abortion ruling

• Donald Trump said the Arizona state Supreme Court went to far in its abortion ruling.
• On Tuesday, the court ruled that an 1864 near-total ban on abortions could be enforced.

Former President Donald Trump on Wednesday said that Arizona's state Supreme Court went too far in potentially restoring a pre-Civil War near-total ban on abortions.

"Yeah, they did," Trump told reporters in Atlanta in response to a question about whether the court went too far, "and I think it'll be straightened out and, as you know, it's all about state's rights and it will be straightened out."

Trump's statement comes just days after he lifted up states' rights as the best way to settle the abortion debate.

At the time, the former president said each state could best determine how to resolve access to abortions either by legislation or at the ballot box. Trump left out the role of state courts, which have increasingly been tasked with settling disputes over long-standing or new state laws in light of the US Supreme Court's reversal of Roe v. Wade.

In a 4-2 ruling, the conservative Arizona court ruled that an 1864 near-complete ban on abortions, enacted before Arizona was even a state, could be enforced. Justices stayed the ban going into effect pending a review of its constitutionality. The pre-existing ban only includes an exception to save the mother's life. It also makes it a felony for anyone who performs an abortion or who helps a woman obtain the procedure.

Trump is far from alone in his struggle to reconcile his states' rights view with the political implications of rulings that restrict abortion access.

Kari Lake, the likely Arizona Republican US Senate nominee, also blasted the state court's decision this week. But when Lake campaigned unsuccessfully to become Arizona's governor two years ago, she praised the 1864 ban.

Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, who is a Democrat, renewed her push for the state legislature to repeal the 1864 ban in the wake of the ruling. Hobbs has pointed out that leading Republicans in the state urged the court to allow for the ban to be enforced. Abortion rights groups were already trying to get a ballot initiative approved for this November which would put the question of abortion access before Arizonans.