Leaving State to Get Abortion ‘Not Worst Thing in the World’—Fox Analyst

Traveling across state lines to get a legal abortion is “not the worst thing in the world,” Fox Business analyst Mark Simone said on Tuesday after Arizona reinstated a 160-year-old ban on the procedure.

“If you had to travel to another state to get an abortion, it’s not the worst thing in the world. Hopefully this is a very rare occurrence in your life, once in your life,” he said during an appearance on Kudlow. “Buying a bus ticket to go somewhere to get it is not the worst thing in the world.” Newsweek contacted Fox Business for comment by email early on Wednesday.

Simone’s comments came on the back of Arizona’s state Supreme Court decision to uphold an 1864 law that bans nearly all abortions, except those necessary to save a pregnant person’s life, on Tuesday. There are no exceptions for rape or incest.

The ban hasn’t taken effect just yet—the court put its ruling temporarily on hold and sent the issue back to a lower court for additional argument over whether the law is constitutional.

Arizona’s top court, whose justices are all Republican appointees, voted 4 to 2 in the controversial decision, which is expected to have significant consequences on women’s health care in the state—and possibly on the November election.

According to FiveThirtyEight, several polls give Donald Trump currently a few points ahead of Joe Biden in the battleground state. But the issue of abortion rights has previously proven to be thorny for the Republican Party, and the Arizona’s highest court’s decision on Tuesday might cause a shift in the way the state will vote on November 5.

As Simone mentioned, those seeking an abortion in a state that bans the procedure can travel across state lines to access the proper health care, and won’t be legally prosecuted for it. But doing so isn’t always easy as the analyst made it sound.

Deciding to travel to another state can be difficult for some, especially if they have financial difficulties and can’t afford to do so, can’t take a day off or are the main caretaker of a family member.

Having an abortion is already a costly procedure. According to Planned Parenthood data, an in-clinic abortion can cost up to $800 in the first trimester, and as much as $2,000 in the second trimester. Additional costs on top of that—including transport, accommodation, food—makes the option unaffordable for many.

Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court in June 2022, 21 states have banned or restricted access to abortion. A full ban is currently in place in Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Tennessee and West Virginia.

Georgia and South Carolina have restricted access to the procedure within six weeks from the beginning of a pregnancy; Nebraska and North Carolina have restricted it to 12 weeks; Arizona, Florida and Utah until between 15 and 18 weeks.