Arizona lawmaker faces backlash over anti-abortion comment about colleague

This week, her story was used against her in what Abeytia and other Democrats have condemned as a personal and misogynistic attack. Rep. Nick Kupper, R-Surprise, invoked Abeytia's abortion in response to a picture of Abeytia at work at the Capitol while holding her 2-week-old son.

"This is wonderful to see a mother caring for her kids," Kupper wrote in a June 2 post on X. "However, it would have been wonderful if all of her kids had been given the same opportunity at life. Abortion is hideous."

Abeytia, D-Phoenix, said Kupper's comments felt unnecessarily personal.

"My first initial reaction was, 'Wow, he's being a real (expletive), because why do you feel the need to post that when ... we're celebrating my child's birth and him being there?

"That diminishes me as a person, as a mom, as lawmaker and all because you believe that abortions are hideous," she said. "I just felt like there was no need for it."

Kupper defends post

Abeytia said she wanted an apology from Kupper — though not over his beliefs.

"I'm wanting an apology for your actions, and how you made me feel as a person," she said.

Kupper told The Arizona Republic he stood by his message and his anti-abortion views, and that he deleted the post at Abeytia's request.

But she's not getting an apology.

"I won't apologize for having the opinion that ending a life is anything but" hideous, Kupper said in a text message.

Kupper said the backlash was likely due to the emotional nature of the topic and social media that "can bring out the worst in people." Kupper said he received a death threat as a result of his post.

"It comes down to me exercising my constitutionally protected right to speech about how I don't morally agree with her constitutionally protected right to abort," Kupper said. "Ironically it seems ok to bash me for exercising my right, but not ok to disagree with her exercising her right. That is illogical."

Abeytia said while testifying against a bill in March 2025 that she had an abortion. The bill would have required in-person doctor visits and other requirements to receive abortion pills, and Democrats said it was a restriction on abortion that ran counter to voters' overwhelming support for abortion rights in the state. Those rights were approved in 2024.

Abeytia did not go into detail at the time, but suggested the abortion was necessary to protect her own health. She said she told a guarded version of her story publicly to show Arizonans that lawmakers come from different backgrounds.

There's a bit more backstory to the social media post that set off Kupper.

Abeytia brought her newborn son to the House floor on Monday, when Republican Speaker Steve Montenegro communicated through staff members that the baby could not be there. After some back and forth, Abeytia was permitted to remain on the floor — casting final votes on bills while cradling her infant.

House Democrats later posted a picture of her "proving moms always make it happen," which is what drew Kupper's politically charged response.

Democrats criticize treatment of Abeytia

Nancy Gutierrez, a Tucson Democrat and her party's assistant leader in the House, said it was "pure misogyny" that motivated the effort to keep Abeytia off the floor at a time when she was nursing and bonding with her newborn.

"It's just a daily frustration to see these men speak about family values and the sanctity of life and how important babies are to them, and then to turn around and say a baby shouldn't be on the floor with their mother," Gutierrez said.

As to Kupper, she said, "he should not be speaking about her medical decisions. Those words should never come out of his mouth. It's just none of his business," even if Abeytia did speak publicly about it.

Andrew Wilder, a spokesperson for Montenegro, declined to comment on Gutierrez's claims.

"Speaker Montenegro is happy for Rep. Abeytia and her growing family, and he was glad she was able to vote," Wilder said.