GOP lawmaker sees photo of colleague’s baby, brings up her abortion

A bit of workplace advice: When a colleague brings her newborn child into work for the first time, perhaps don’t bring up her previous abortion.

Nick Kupper, a freshman GOP state representative from the West Valley, committed that blunder Tuesday night. Earlier that day, Democratic state Rep. Anna Abeytia brought her two-week-old baby into the Arizona House of Representatives so she could participate in a vote. The Arizona House Democrats account tweeted a photo of mother and child, with the caption: “Rep. Anna Abeytia proving moms always make it happen.”

Then Kupper weighed in. 

“This is wonderful to see a mother caring for her kids,” Kupper wrote in a quote-tweet of the photo. “However, it would have been wonderful if all of her kids had been given the same opportunity at life. Abortion is hideous.”

The post, as well as several replies Kupper made to people offended by it, has since been deleted. In one of the deleted replies, Kupper argued that because Abeytia had previously discussed having had an abortion on the House floor, that incredibly personal chapter of her life was fair game for comment.

“She made it public & now the House Dem page wants to highlight her as a mother who takes care of her kids,” Kupper wrote in one reply. “If they take their post down then I’ll take mine down. I didn’t condemn her, I condemned abortion.”

In a reply to Democratic state Rep. Quantá Crews, Kupper said Abeytia’s abortion disclosure meant “it is my business now,” going on to write: “Your party, as a whole, celebrates abortion, but somehow I’m not allowed to talk about it?”

Kupper was referring to comments Abeytia gave last year when speaking on the House floor against a bill that would have restricted abortion. (The bill ultimately failed.) In her remarks, she talked about a recent abortion she’d had and said that decisions like the one she made weren’t the concern of the state’s legislature. 

“I find this legislation disrespectful to people like myself to make those decisions for my own body and for my family,” she said at the time.

Abeytia did not specify the reason she had an abortion. Though Kupper cast the decision in a capricious light, many women seek abortions for reasons to do with their own health or the health of the fetus.

In an emailed response to Phoenix New Times, Kupper said that he spoke with Abeytia by phone Tuesday night and she asked him to remove his post. 

“I honored that request and told her I won’t speak of her online at all anymore,” he wrote. 

Abeytia did not respond to requests for comment for this story.

Arizona voters added the right to abortion to the state constitution in 2024, with more than 60% of voters casting ballots in favor. Kupper said he respects that and will uphold it, though “that does not mean that I have to morally agree with it.”

Nonetheless, Republican legislators have spent much of the past two sessions attempting to pass abortion restrictions that the new abortion access amendment clearly prohibits.

On social media, Democrats immediately condemned Kupper for commenting on a colleague’s abortion history, with varying degrees of restraint.

“You’re a piece of shit,” state Sen. Analise Ortiz responded. “Rep. Abeytia is an incredible mom who’s bravely shared her story to make it clear that the government has NO right to control how we grow our families. Can’t wait until you’re sent to the dustbin of irrelevant former politicians where you belong.” Ortiz then called him a coward for deleting his post and the subsequent responses. 

Democratic state Rep. Nancy Gutierrez also came to Abeytia’s defense, condemning Kupper and calling him a hypocrite. Abeytia gave up maternity leave to vote, Gutierrez wrote on Instagram in a post that included a screenshot of Kupper’s original tweet. She added that GOP leadership tried to make her leave her baby when she went to vote.  

“If you think these people value families, you’re wrong,” Gutierrez wrote. “This is a vile post and should not be tolerated.”