Nick Begich Touted The Support Of Anti-Reproductive Freedom Members Of Alaska’s State House

Begich Had The Endorsement Of AK Rep. Kevin McCabe, Who Proposed Legislation “To Establish Definitions Of ‘Life’ And ‘Person’ In Criminal Law”

Alaska Representative Kevin McCabe Endorsed Begich In 2024. [Nick Begich for Alaska, Accessed 9/20/24]

2024: Alaska Rep. McCabe Proposed H.B. 107 “To Establish Definitions Of ‘Life’ And ‘Person’ In Criminal Law,” Which He Said Would “Define A Fetus As A Person.” “An Alaska House member has proposed a bill [HB 107] that seeks to establish definitions of ‘life’ and ‘person’ in criminal law, prompting dozens of Alaskans to testify against it, saying it would unconstitutionally limit abortions in the state. Rep. Kevin McCabe, R-Big Lake, said his bill is ‘simply my attempt to define life for the statute’ and ‘ensure fair treatment and protection for all individuals including those yet to be born.’ He said the bill would define a fetus as a person.” [Alaska Beacon, 2/28/24]

Critics Of H.B. 107 Argued That It Was “A Backdoor Attempt To Overturn Our Rights” And Warned That “This Bill Threatens” Alaskan Women’s Liberties. “Dezarae Arrowsun, a board member for the Juneau Pro-Choice Coalition, said the bill [H.B. 107] could be used to criminalize doctors for performing abortions. ‘This is obviously a backdoor attempt to overturn our rights, as protected in the Alaska Constitution, to obtain a legal abortion,’ she said. Emma Wilson from Anchorage said the bill could endanger the lives of pregnant people seeking life-saving care. ‘As an Alaskan with the ability to fall pregnant, this bill threatens my liberties and this bill threatens my life,’ she said.” [Alaska Beacon, 2/28/24]

Begich Had The Endorsement Of AK Rep. Sarah Vance, Who Showed “Support For Legislation Restricting Abortions” And “Aimed To Eliminate State Funding For Abortion Services”

Alaska Representative Sarah Vance Endorsed Begich In 2024. [Nick Begich for Alaska, Accessed 9/20/24]

Vance Showed “Support For Legislation Restricting Abortions” And “Aimed To Eliminate State Funding For Abortion Services.” “In Juneau, [Sarah] Vance has shown support for legislation restricting abortions and budget amendments. In 2020, she sponsored her own anti-abortion legislation, which was never heard in committee. This past April, the two-term legislator supported an amendment to the budget that aimed to eliminate state funding for abortion services. During a floor speech in favor of the amendment, Vance talked about her unplanned pregnancy when she was 23, which she was in denial about ‘because I had a two-year plan and I was being responsible.’ ‘And so I took a pregnancy test, Madam Speaker, but I didn’t believe it until I heard her heartbeat and I saw the little bean on the screen,’ she said. ‘And so I want us to remember that this is more than just dollars or what court orders. This is the very lives of our future.’” [Alaska Beacon, 11/3/22]

2024: Rep. Vance Apologized After Facing Backlash For Responding To Testimony About The Disproportionate Rates Of Sexual Violence Against Native Women With Criticism For Its Lack Of Inclusion Of White Women. “Rep. Sarah Vance of Homer apologized on the House floor Monday for comments she made in a House Tribal Affairs Committee meeting last week. Committee members heard testimony from people working in organizations serving Alaska Native peoples on the disparities in assault rates and violence against Indigenous women, which is several times higher than the general population. At the end of the meeting, Vance said she felt the presentation excluded the experiences of white women who are victims of sexual violence. ‘It’s the same thing. But what I continue to hear in this committee over and over again, is if you are the only one. And I know that’s not your heart,’ she said. ‘But I asked that, when you come and present, that you remember that you have white sisters who are going through the same thing.’” [KTOO, 2/14/24]

+++