Arizona voters will have the opportunity to vote in November on whether to include the right to an abortion in the state’s constitution. The Arizona secretary of state’s office has confirmed that 577,971 signatures have been certified, surpassing the required number for the ballot measure by the coalition behind the initiative. Arizona for Abortion Access, the coalition supporting the measure, stated that this is the highest number of signatures ever validated for a citizen’s initiative in the state’s history.
Campaign manager Cheryl Bruce expressed, “This is a significant victory for Arizona voters who now have the chance to vote YES on reinstating and safeguarding the right to access abortion care without political interference.” With Democrats placing a strong emphasis on abortion rights following the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2022, the issue is becoming a focal point in this year’s elections.
The current Arizona law prohibits abortions after 15 weeks with exceptions for medical emergencies but with restrictions on non-surgical abortion, mandatory ultrasound requirements, and parental consent for minors. The proposed amendment seeks to allow abortions up to around 24 weeks, when a fetus could potentially survive outside the womb, with exceptions to protect the mother’s life, physical, or mental health and would prevent the state from enforcing laws that prohibit access to abortion.
While opponents argue that the measure is too extreme and could lead to unregulated abortions, supporters believe that a constitutional amendment would secure abortion rights from being easily overturned by court rulings or legislative actions. Earlier in the year, the Arizona Supreme Court upheld an 1864 abortion ban that only allowed exceptions to save the mother’s life and did not account for survivors of rape or incest. However, the Republican-controlled Legislature voted to repeal this outdated law, which Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs promptly signed.
This 19th-century law had been inactive since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization decision, removing constitutional protections for abortion. The initiative is part of a broader movement across several states, including Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, New York, and South Dakota, where abortion-related ballot measures are expected to go before voters this year.
