Republican helps defeat Arizona abortion pill ban

FILE - Rep. Michelle Udall, R-Mesa, is sworn in during the opening of the Arizona Legislature at the state Capitol Monday, Jan. 11, 2021, in Phoenix. Udall defected from a united GOP front on Thursday, Feb. 24, 2022, to defeat a measure that would have banned manufacturing or prescribing medication that would cause an abortion. The bill that unexpectedly failed would have eliminated the choice used by half of the people who have abortions in the state, leaving a surgical procedure as the only option. "Members, I am about as pro-life as they come," Udall of Mesa said as she joined all Democrats in voting against the measure. "However, in my research of some of these medications, they are used for other purposes as well. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, Pool, File)