In November, Arizonans will have the opportunity to determine whether to include the right to an abortion in the state constitution.
On Monday, the secretary of state’s office in Arizona said that it had verified 577,971 signatures, which is far more than the necessary amount that the coalition endorsing the ballot proposal needed to provide in order to present the question to voters.
According to the group, Arizona for Abortion Access, this is the state’s largest-ever validation of signatures for a citizen initiative.
“This is a huge win for Arizona voters who will now get to vote YES on restoring and protecting the right to access abortion care, free from political interference, once and for all,” campaign manager Cheryl Bruce stated.
Since the United States Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade in 2022, Democrats have made abortion rights a prominent platform, and this year’s elections are a major component of their efforts in this regard.
This year, voters in Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, New York, and South Dakota will already be asked to weigh in on the matter.
At the moment, abortions after 15 weeks are illegal in Arizona. The prohibition, which went into effect in 2022, limits non-surgical abortion but allows exceptions in circumstances of medical emergency. In addition, parental approval for children and an ultrasound are necessary before an abortion can be performed.
With few exceptions made to preserve the mother’s life or to safeguard her physical or mental well-being, the proposed amendment would permit abortions up until the point at which the fetus may survive outside the womb, usually about 24 weeks. It would limit the state’s ability to pass or implement legislation that would make the procedure inaccessible.
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The initial submission of 823,685 signatures, more than twice the needed number of 383,923 from registered voters, was reported by the organizers.
The measure’s opponents claim it goes too far and might result in unrestricted, limitless abortions in Arizona.
Conversely, proponents assert that a constitutional amendment guarantees that the right to an abortion cannot be readily taken away by a legislative or court vote. The Arizona Supreme Court affirmed in April an 1864 abortion ban that only allowed the procedure to save the mother’s life and made no accommodations for rape or incest survivors.
However, the Republican-controlled Legislature voted to overturn the ban, which dates back to the American Civil War, and Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs promptly signed it into law.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which removed constitutional safeguards for abortion, the 19th-century law has been banned.
