Arizona put abortion access on the ballot this fall, and the state passed the measure, enshrining the right to choose in the state constitution.
The Grand Canyon State added the proposition to ballots after certifying 577,951 signatures calling for the vote, a number well beyond the total required to put the question to voters. The Arizona Coalition for Abortion Access said the total represented the largest number of signatures for a citizen initiative in state history, according to NPR.
The state will now allow abortions until a fetus can survive outside the uterus, usually about 24 weeks into the pregnancy, with exceptions to save the mother’s life or protect her body.
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What was access to abortion like in Arizona?
The fight for abortion access in Arizona has followed a complicated and difficult path over the past several years.
Arizona’s abortion laws have caused much confusion since the Supreme Court’s ruling. Dobbs decision, with the state initially adopting a near-total ban starting in 1864, which the state then reversed in September, with HB 2677.
The 19th-century law, which existed before Arizona even gained statehood, had no exceptions for rape or incest and only allowed abortion if the mother’s life was in danger. The state Supreme Court upheld the law and wrote in the majority opinion that doctors and health care workers could be prosecuted and sentenced to prison for up to five years if convicted guilty of assisting or performing an abortion.
HB 2677, signed in May by Arizona Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs, repealed the 1864 law with the support of the legislature’s Democratic minority and some defectors from the Republican majority.
Women seeking an abortion must have an ultrasound at least 24 hours before the procedure. Minors must have parental consent or permission from a state judge, with the exception of rape, incest or risk of death, according to the Associated Press.
What is Arizona Proposition 139?
The measure to enshrine abortion in the Arizona state constitution, Proposition 139, sought to add abortion as a fundamental right. The law considers fetal viability a major distinction.
The only way the state can intervene in an abortion is through a “compelling state interest,” defined as a law or regulation passed for the limited purpose of improving or maintaining the health of the woman. the individual.
How popular was the abortion measure?
With approximately 54 percent of the votes counted, Arizona passed Proposition 139 with more than 62 percent support, mustering more than 1,130,000 votes in support of repeal.
