Now that Roe v. Wade has been overturned, what, if any, legal changes would you propose in Alaska with regard to access to abortion?
Governor
Bill Walker
Nonpartisan candidate for Governor
A woman’s right to choose has long been protected under the privacy rights afforded in the Alaska Constitution. I will veto any legislation that puts the government between a woman and her doctor. I will also oppose a constitutional convention and the threat it poses to the privacy rights we value, and I will not support a standalone constitutional amendment that threatens the right to privacy, like the one Mike Dunleavy is advocating.
Charlie Pierce
Republican candidate for Governor
This issue has finally been returned to each state for its citizens to decide. I want to see a constitutional convention, where elected delegates come together to hash out Alaska’s answer. As governor, I will work to remove the barriers to adoption. Consider all the legal fees, travel expenses, home studies and medical costs of pregnancy and delivery. This is where the state government can encourage and support mothers, children and adopting families to work together toward building a stronger Alaska.
Les Gara
Democratic candidate for Governor
I’m the only pro-choice candidate in this race, with the only record of supporting choice among the candidates. It’s why I have the endorsement of Planned Parenthood Alliance Advocates (Planned Parenthood’s endorsing arm). I do respect that Bill Walker says he will try to put his beliefs against choice to the side this time as governor. Given Gov. Dunleavy’s promise to try to eliminate the right to choose with a constitutional amendment, Walker will get my second ranking in November.
I cannot vote for a candidate who promises to take away the right to choose, and who, like Gov. Dunleavy, opposes abortion even in cases of rape and incest.
I’m the only candidate who has said I’ll do what’s truly needed to protect choice — ask future judges if they will uphold Alaska’s case law protecting the right to choose. That’s what keeps choice legal in Alaska. Alaskans can lose our freedom on this and other issues just as they did at the federal level — with state Supreme Court justices who reverse our pro-choice case law.
I’ll veto legislation that rolls back the right to choose, and work to expand safe contraception to a year-long prescription.
Mike Dunleavy
Republican candidate for Governor
Alaska was one of four states where abortion was legal before the Roe v. Wade decision, so the overturning of Roe does not have an immediate impact here. The fatal flaw of the Roe decision was imposing a nationwide ruling that wasn’t rooted in sound legal ground under the U.S. Constitution, which the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg noted. By returning the issue to the states where it belongs, Alaskans have the freedom to address this issue as they see fit. I’ve stated that I would introduce an amendment to let the people vote on the right to abortion through a constitutional amendment. I am personally pro life, and I will respect the outcome of that vote regardless of my personal beliefs.