In a surprising turn of events, Republican leaders in Arizona inadvertently revealed their secretive abortion strategy to Democratic lawmakers. The leaked PowerPoint presentation outlined their plans to challenge a citizen-initiated ballot measure that seeks to expand abortion rights for up to six months.

The strategy devised by Republicans includes referring separate abortion measures to the ballot, aiming to potentially divide and weaken support for the Arizona Abortion Access Act, which has garnered over 500,000 signatures from voters. However, the document intended for internal discussion and consideration within the Republican caucus was mistakenly sent to Democrats.

Republican House Speaker Ben Toma acknowledged the mistake, stating that the leaked document contained ideas being explored to address the abortion issue in the state. He emphasized that it was not an official announcement of their strategy. Toma added that options were being sought to counter the citizens' initiative.

This development comes shortly after the Arizona Supreme Court reinstated a law from the Civil War era banning almost all abortions. The Republican outline involves two phases. The first phase proposes a ballot referral to constitutionally protect existing abortion restrictions. However, unlike the citizens' initiative, this GOP proposal does not establish a right to abortion.

The second phase, titled "'SEND VOTERS TWO OTHER OPTIONS THAT CONFLICT WITH (Arizona for Abortion Access) INITIATIVE," aims to introduce a 15-week and a 6-week abortion ban on the ballot. According to the leaked memo, this strategy is intended to increase the likelihood of the Arizona for Abortion Access initiative failing by splitting and diluting the votes.

The leaked information has sparked criticism from House Democratic Whip Nancy Gutierrez, who condemned the Republican approach as a political game endangering people's lives. Gutierrez called for a clean repeal of the archaic 1864 total ban on abortion, accusing Republicans of spreading misinformation and attempting to change the narrative around the issue.

Lawmakers, pressured by figures such as former President Donald Trump, are set to reconvene at the state Capitol to address the near-total abortion ban from 1864. The latest developments have intensified the debate surrounding abortion rights and underscore the divide between Republican and Democratic lawmakers on the issue in Arizona.