¶ Post-Roe Leak
¶ Blake Masters Supported Overturing Griswold which Provided A Right To Contraception
AZ Mirror: “GOP Senate Candidate Blake Masters Wants To Allow States To Ban Contraception Use” [AZ Mirror, 5/6/22]
- Masters’ Campaign Website Said He Would Only Vote To Confirm Federal Judges “Who Understand That Roe And Griswold And Casey Were Wrongly Decided, And That There Is No Constitutional Right To Abortion” According to AZ Mirror, “After the U.S. Supreme Court overturns women’s constitutional right to abortion this summer, one Arizona Republican candidate for U.S. Senate thinks judges should also take aim at the right to buy and use contraception. Blake Masters, a Tucson-based venture capitalist, boasts on his website that he will only vote to confirm federal judges ‘who understand that Roe and Griswold and Casey were wrongly decided, and that there is no constitutional right to abortion.’ Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, decided in 1973 and 1992, respectively, both upheld a constitutional right to abortion access. But the ruling in Griswold v. Connecticut in 1965 protected a married couple’s right to buy and use contraceptives without government restrictions.” [AZ Mirror, 5/6/22]
- The Ruling In Griswold V. Connecticut Protected A Married Couple’s Right To Buy And Use Contraceptives Without Government Restrictions. According to AZ Mirror, “But the ruling in Griswold v. Connecticut in 1965 protected a married couple’s right to buy and use contraceptives without government restrictions. The case centered on a Connecticut law that banned the use of contraceptives, which the court determined violated a married couple’s constitutional right to privacy, establishing the basis for the right to privacy with respect to intimate practices.” [AZ Mirror, 5/6/22]
- Masters Said: “I Don’t Support A State Law Or Federal Law That Would Ban Or Restrict Contraception — Period. And Griswold Was Wrongly Decided. Both Are True.” According to Business Insider, “‘I don't support a state law or federal law that would ban or restrict contraception — period,’ Masters said in a statement emailed to Insider. ‘And Griswold was wrongly decided. Both are true.’ In a Twitter thread criticizing reporting that pointed out his conflicting campaign positions, Masters stated that his problem with the Griswold case was that the Supreme Court justices ‘wholesale made up a constitutional right to achieve a political outcome.’” [Business Insider, 5/7/22]
¶ Blake Masters Supported A Federal Personhood Law To Ban Abortion In All States
Daily Caller: ‘Step In And Protect Life’: Blake Masters Says Rolling Back Roe v. Wade Isn’t Good Enough [Daily Caller, 5/22/22]
Masters Opposed States Rights For The Issue Of Abortion, Claiming Democrats Want To “Go In At Seven Or Eight Months In Utero And Kill Babies, Sever Spinal Cords And Dismember Babies” And Arguing “At Some Point The Federal Government Has Got To Step In And Protect Life.” According to the Daily Caller, ‘“They use this sort of Federalist language, federalism, to try to just get off the hook,’ Masters said. ‘But I don’t think you can simply return the issue to the states, ’cause I don’t think that California, or Oregon should allow Planned Parenthood to go in at seven or eight months in utero and kill babies, sever spinal cords and dismember babies. And that’s what the left really does want to do, to be clear … At some point the federal government has got to step in and protect life.”’ [Daily Caller, 5/22/22]
Masters Said “I Don’t Think You Can Simply Return The Issue To The States Cause I Don’t Think That California, Or Oregon Should Allow Planned Parenthood To Go In At Seven Or Eight Months In Utero And Kill Babies.” According to the Daily Caller, “‘They use this sort of Federalist language, federalism, to try to just get off the hook,’ Masters said. ‘But I don’t think you can simply return the issue to the states, ’cause I don’t think that California, or Oregon should allow Planned Parenthood to go in at seven or eight months in utero and kill babies, sever spinal cords and dismember babies. And that’s what the left really does want to do, to be clear … At some point the federal government has got to step in and protect life.’” [Daily Caller, 5/22/22]
Masters Supported Banning Abortion Federally, Saying “I Think You Do Need A Federal Personhood Law.” According to the Huffington Post, “While many Republican lawmakers are shying away from talking about banning abortion outright, Arizona GOP Senate candidate Blake Masters is embracing it. The issue has jumped to the front of the political debate since the emergence of a leaked Supreme Court draft written by Justice Samuel Alito that would overturn Roe v. Wade and take away the federal guarantee of abortion rights. Three days after Politico published the draft, Masters said that the Roe decision was ‘absolutely horrible’ and noted that the Constitution ‘does not mention abortion.’ He said that ‘at a minimum,’ abortion should be left up to the states. But, he added, ‘I actually think we should go further than that though.’ ‘I think the 14th Amendment says you have the right to life, liberty and property,’ he said at an event in Carefree, Arizona. ‘You can’t deprive someone with that without due process. Hard to imagine a bigger deprivation of due process than killing a small child before they have a chance to take their first breath. So I think you do need a federal personhood law.”’ [Huffington Post, 5/9/22]
Masters Tweeted: “Mark Kelly Supports Partial Birth Abortion, Severing Spinal Cords And Dismembering Limbs In Utero, No Limits Of Any Kind. And He Wants To Force Your State To Allow It.” Blake Masters tweeted, “Mark Kelly supports partial birth abortion, severing spinal cords and dismembering limbs in utero, no limits of any kind. And he wants to force your state to allow it.” [Twitter, @bgmasters, 5/5/22]
[AUDIO] Masters Advocated For Constitutional Amendment To Ban Abortions. “I changed my website or whatever, look at my website, everybody go to blakemasters.com right now. The pro-life language on my website is the most detailed and pro-life agenda from any Senate candidate nationwide. I'm literally calling for a constitutional amendment to ban and very late term third trimester and partial birth abortion. I think we need to do that at the federal level. I'm glad that Roe v. Wade was repealed. Right. Dobbs sent the decision back to the states where I think most of it belongs. Arizona is going to make its first. This is going to make its choice. But I think and I've said this consistently every day on the campaign trail for a year, that's great. We send it back to the states. Roe v. Wade was wrong, but you can't just stop there. You have to go further because at a certain point, the federal government needs to come in and protect children at a certain point. I understand that this is a delicate issue. I guess I'm Catholic. I know what I believe." [The Garret Lewis Show; 08/26/22]; 220826_ASP_680_A
¶ Blake Masters Cheered The Overturn Of Roe V. Wade
[VIDEO] Blake Masters On Roe V Wade Being Overturned: ““I Think It’s A Pro-Life State And I Think This Is A Pro-Life Country.” “I think it’s a pro-life state and I think this is a pro-life country. Mark Kelly, he doesn’t care about the open border, he doesn’t care about inflation, it’s why he’s a rubber-stamp vote for the Joe Biden agenda. What he does cares about apparently, is unlimited partial-birth abortion. He can’t articulate any single restriction. He’s for, he’s all for Planned ParenthooD going in at seven months in utero to sever spinal cords and dismember babies. I’m sorry to be so graphic, but like, we have to talk at this level. That’s what it is. I think it’s ghastly. He’s out of step with Arizona. I’m running on a bold agenda, this President Trump 2016 agenda. It was great on the life issue, it’s great on every issue,,, . What’s happening to our country is unacceptable. What the left is doing is unacceptable and we’re going to take this country back.” [Fox News: The Ingraham Angle, 5/5/22]
Blake Masters Said The Dobbs Decision Was A “Huge Victory For Children Across This Country.” Blake Masters tweeted, “This is a huge victory for children across this country. For decades, we allowed a terrible Court ruling to justify an abortion regime. That ends today.” [Twitter, @bgmasters, 6/24/22]
Blake Masters Said “The Pro-Life Fight Must Continue In The States.” Blake Masters tweeted, “Now the pro-life fight must continue in the states. Mark Kelly — and nearly every other Democrat in the Senate — voted to legalize abortion up until the moment of birth. These Democrats must be held accountable. That’s exactly what we’re going to do in November.” [Twitter, @bgmasters, 6/24/22]
Masters Called The Supreme Court Decision Overturning Roe V Wade “A Wonderful Gift” “For Life.” Blake Masters tweeted, “Happy Birthday to @cathiherrod, who has been leading the pro-life fight in Arizona for decades. Only fitting that this monumental decision came today — a wonderful gift for Cathi and for life.” [Twitter, @bgmasters, 6/24/22]
Masters Posted To Facebook: “Overturning Roe Is A Tremendous Victory. Millions Of Americans’ Prayers Have Been Answered. We Have To Create A Pro-life, Pro-family Culture In This Country Again.” Blake masters posted to Facebook, “Overturning Roe is a tremendous victory. Millions of Americans’ prayers have been answered. We have to create a pro-life, pro-family culture in this country again.” [Facebook, Blake Masters, 6/30/22]
¶ August 25, 2022: Masters Scrubbed His Campaign Website Of Mentions Of His Extreme Anti-CHoice Stance
Masters Scrubbed His Website Of His Anti-Choice Stances After He Released An Ad Accusing Kelly Of Lying About His Stance On Reproductive Rights. “In a new ad released yesterday, Masters accused Kelly of lying about his stance on reproductive rights and claimed Democrats were trying to cover for their extreme positions. Soon after, Masters’ campaign website underwent a complete makeover, but not before screenshots were captured by NBC News. Gone now are proclamations of Masters being ‘100% pro-life’, stripping funding for research that uses embryonic cells, and support for a law that classifies abortion as murder. All gone from the site now, but it was there. In its place is softer language, calling Roe v. Wade a bad decision and pledging support for laws that ban late-term abortions. It wasn’t just Masters’ website that once expressed those extreme views on abortion. In an ad released by Mark Kelly, Masters is shown saying, ‘I think Roe v. Wade was wrong, I think it’s always been wrong,’ as well as, ‘It’s a religious sacrifice for these people. I think it is demonic.’ The ad also features Masters saying, ‘The federal government needs to step in and say no state can permit abortion,’ and ‘You make it illegal and you punish the doctors.’” [MSNBC: Morning Joe, 8/26/22]
NBC News: “In Arizona, Blake Masters Backtracks On Abortion And Scrubs His Campaign Website.” According to NBC News, “Just after it released the ad, Masters’ campaign published an overhaul of his website and softened his rhetoric, rewriting or erasing five of his six positions. NBC News took screenshots of the website before and after it was changed. Masters’ website appeared to have been refreshed after NBC News reached out for clarification about his abortion stances. ‘I am 100% pro-life,’ Masters’ website read as of Thursday morning. That language is now gone. Another notable deletion: a line that detailed his support for ‘a federal personhood law (ideally a Constitutional amendment) that recognizes that unborn babies are human beings that may not be killed.’” [NBC News, 8/25/22]
HuffPost: “Trump-Backed Blake Masters Does Slimy Flip-Flop On Abortion After Winning Primary.” [HuffPost, 8/26/22]
Masters Released An Ad Accusing Mark Kelly Of Lying About Masters View On Abortion. Masters tweeted, “Mark Kelly is lying about my views on abortion — the Democrats have to do that because their own position (no limits of any kind, ever) is so extreme. Here’s the truth.” [Twitter, @bgmasters, 8/25/22]
Masters Original Issue Section On Abortion On His Campaign Website. [Blake Masters for Senate, accessed 8/28/22]
¶ Blake Masters Allegedly Used To Be Pro-Choice And Convinced His Childhood Friend To Be Pro-Choice
One Of Masters’ Childhood Friends Stated That Masters Used To Be An “Outspoken” Supporter Of Abortion Rights And Said “Blake Was The One Who Convinced Me To Be Pro-Choice” According to Jewish Insider, ‘“That’s the biggest surprise for us, meaning anybody who knew him,’ Collin Wedel, a Tucson native who said Masters had been one of his closest friends until they stopped talking because of political differences that arose during the Trump era and have continued into the Senate bid, told JI. “If he had announced that he was running for Senate on some kind of weird libertarian, we-should-have-a-gold-standard platform, I think all of us would have said, ‘Well, yeah, that was Blake.’’ Before Trump, Wedel said in a recent interview, Masters had long espoused the views of a ‘classic, extreme libertarian’ who endorsed ‘open borders,’ backed the gold standard and identified as an ‘outspoken’ supporter of abortion rights. ‘Blake was the one who convinced me to be pro-choice,’ said Wedel, who is now an attorney in Los Angeles. ‘I remember him arguing with me. I mean, it was Tucson, Arizona, in the ‘90s, so it was a very conservative evangelical community, and he was not that.’ ‘How can you control somebody else’s life or body?” Wedel said Masters had once reasoned while questioning the anti-abortion line.” [Jewish Insider, 6/7/22]
- Masters Childhood Friend Said Masters Had Reasoned With Him While Questioning The Anti-abortion Stance: “How Can You Control Somebody Else’s Life Or Body?” According to Jewish Insider, “‘Blake was the one who convinced me to be pro-choice,’ said Wedel, who is now an attorney in Los Angeles. ‘I remember him arguing with me. I mean, it was Tucson, Arizona, in the ‘90s, so it was a very conservative evangelical community, and he was not that.’ ‘How can you control somebody else’s life or body?” Wedel said Masters had once reasoned while questioning the anti-abortion line.” [Jewish Insider, 6/7/22]
Masters Wrote In An Email To His College Co-op: “When Will Someone Start A Group That’s Pro-Gun (Pro-Freedom) And Pro-Choice (Pro-Freedom)? I Would Join.” According to Mother Jones, “After graduating, Masters kept emailing the Columbae listserv. The numerous messages shared with Mother Jones reveal a man largely unsympathetic to those who would lose out if his version of libertarianism prevailed. […] His frustrations extended across party lines. ‘When will someone start a group that’s pro-gun (pro-freedom) AND pro-choice (pro-freedom)?’ he asked in one email. ‘I would join.’ (Holding such a progressive view of abortion was not new; Masters had persuaded Wedel, who grew up in a conservative household, to support women’s right to have abortions nearly a decade before.)” [Mother Jones, 7/18/22]
Masters Said He Was “Not Sure How Vocal” And “Not Sure How Pro” He Was On Abortion When He Was In School, And Referred To His Pro-Abortion Posts As Part Of His “Embarrassing Libertarian Phase.” According to the Washington Post, “Now Masters tells voters he wants to ‘finish the wall’ at the southern border, end illegal immigration and amend the Constitution to outlaw abortions across the country. In the Post interviews, he said he was ‘not sure how vocal’ and ‘not sure how pro’ he was on abortion back in school. He refers to the LiveJournal entries — first reported by Jewish Insider and now featured in Republican attack ads against him — as part of his ‘embarrassing libertarian phase.”’ [Washington Post, 7/20/22]
¶ Blake Masters Supported Arizona's 15 Week Abortions Ban
Masters Supported Arizona’s 15 Week Abortion Ban. According to the Arizona Republic, “Masters, a Stanford-trained lawyer who said his top pick for Senate committees would be the Judiciary Committee, said he thinks a federal ‘personhood law’ would help ban all third-trimester abortions. He said he views Arizona’s ban on abortions after 15 weeks — with exceptions for the life of the mother — is appropriate for his state. ‘The federal government should prohibit late-term abortion, third-trimester abortion and partial-birth abortion,’ he said. ‘Below that, states are going to make different decisions that are going to reflect the will of the people in those states, and I think most reasonable. I think that’s what most people certainly in this state and nationwide are looking for.’ ‘I would look to Arizona’s (15-week) law and say I’m OK with it. I think it’s a reasonable solution, which reflects where the electorate is.”’ [Arizona Republic, 8/8/22]
¶ Blake Masters Attacked Mark Kelly For His Pro-Choice Stance
Masters Tweeted At Mark Kelly: “You Supported Biden’s Unconstitutional Federal Forced Vaccine Mandate. And You Voted For Unlimited Abortion Nationwide *Up Until The Moment Of Birth.*” Blake Masters tweeted, “You supported Biden’s unconstitutional federal forced vaccine mandate. And you voted for unlimited abortion nationwide *up until the moment of birth.* See you on the debate stage this fall.” [Twitter, @bgmasters, 6/27/22]
Politifact Rated Masters’ Claim That Mark Kelly “Voted To Legalize Abortion Up Until The Moment Of Birth” As Mostly False. According to Politifact, “Masters said that Kelly voted to ‘legalize abortion up until the moment of birth.’ Kelly voted for the Women’s Health Protection Act, which would have prohibited states from banning abortion of a viable fetus when the life and health of the woman are at risk. It also would have prevented the criminalization of abortions. Abortion in the last weeks of pregnancy are exceedingly rare. Abortion opponents we reached cited no example where abortions ocurred so late without a clear medical reason. Additionally, state civil liability laws — in place to ensure medical providers give patients the best treatment possible — already permit abortions in certain medical circumstances. The bill Kelly supported did not change that. We rate this claim Mostly False.” [Politifact, 8/1/22]
¶ Blake Masters Attacked Companies For Offering Funds To Assist Employees With Obtaining An Abortion
[AUDIO] Masters Attacked Companies For Offering Funds To Assist Employees With Obtaining An Abortion. “The thing that companies are telling you they’ll pay you to go and terminate a pregnancy to, you know, to kill a child in the womb. But they don't offer generous maternity leave benefits. You know, for a woman that's working that does want to start a family, it's these companies, these WOKE companies, they pretend to care about women and they're just showing that they don't. Right. They're just putting their thumb on the scale and left wing ideology. And they actually don't support working families because they don't want families. They want workers. They want workers without children.” [Breitbart, 06/26/22]
¶ Masters Attempted To Attack Mark Kelly By Tweeting About A 10 Year Old Girl That Was Raped And Forced To Travel Across State Lines For Her Abortion Procedure
Masters Tweeted: “Does Mark Kelly Think This Guy Should Have Been Deported Before He Got A Chance To Rape A 10 Year Old Girl?” Blake Masters Tweeted: “Does Mark Kelly think this guy should have been deported before he got a chance to rape a 10 year old girl?” [Twitter, @bgmasters, 7/13/22]
¶ Masters Supported Lindsey Graham's Proposed 15-Week Abortion Ban
Masters Supported Lindsey Graham’s 15-Week National Abortion Ban. Hannah Knowles tweeted, “Blake Masters: ‘Of course, I support Lindsey Graham’s 15-week bill, and I hope it passes.’ If not, he says he'll introduce the third-trimester federal ban he previously backed.” [Twitter, @KnowlesHannah, 9/13/22]
Masters Said He Supported Graham’s National Abortion Ban. “Senator Lindsey Graham introduced a bill to ban abortion nationwide at 15 weeks. It’s exactly what Republicans don't want to talk about. They see abortion as an issue that will help Democrats in November. In Arizona, Senate candidate Blake Masters tried to change the subject when asked about the bill. Masters said, ‘I’m here to talk about illegal immigration today [...] I said yesterday, yeah, I support it. I hope it passes. It’s not going to pass.’” [WABC (ABC), 9/14/22];