The Arizona ballot in November will include an amendment that would enshrine the right to abortion throughout pregnancy into the state constitution.
The Arizona Secretary of State’s Office told NBC News on Monday evening that it had approved the abortion measure to go before voters after organizers submitted more than 577,000 valid signatures — surpassing the 383,923 required to appear on the ballot. The measure will appear on the ballot as “Proposition 139.”
The proposed amendment is being put forward by Arizona for Abortion Access — a coalition of groups including ACLU of Arizona, Affirm Sexual and Reproductive Health, Arizona List, Healthcare Rising Arizona, NARAL Arizona, and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona.
The measure would amend the Arizona constitution to declare that “every individual has a fundamental right to abortion” and bars the state from doing anything that:
Denies, restricts, or interferes with that right before fetal viability unless justified by a compelling state interest that is achieved by the least restrictive means.
Denies, restricts, or interferes with an abortion after fetal viability that, in the good faith judgment of a treating health care professional, is necessary to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant individual.
Penalizes any individual or entity for aiding or assisting a pregnant individual in exercising that individual’s right to abortion as provided in this section.
“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,” Cheryl Bruce, campaign manager for Arizona for Abortion Access, claimed in a statement.
Abortion is currently restricted in Arizona after 15 weeks of pregnancy, which is when an unborn baby is believed to be capable of feeling pain.
The Arizona Supreme Court allowed a near-total abortion ban from 1864 to go into effect over the 15-week restriction in April. However, Democrat Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs quickly signed a bill repealing the law on May 2.
Leading pro-life group Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America previously said the measure would “create an Arizona unrecognizable to those of us who live here.”
“This proposal put forth in Arizona by the ACLU, Planned Parenthood and other far left special interest groups aims to create an Arizona unrecognizable to those of us who live here. This proposal would impose painful late-term abortions up to birth,” Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America’s Arizona State Director Maria Birnbaum said in a statement.
“Arizonans believe in protecting the unborn and serving their mothers and current law protects babies starting at 15 weeks, which is the point when science proves they can feel pain,” Birnbaum continued:
The ACLU and the abortion lobby’s extreme and barbaric vision for Arizona aligns with their own radical agenda to eliminate parental rights and eliminate any protection for the unborn, not what Arizonans believe. This proposal is repugnant to the values of our state.
The abortion measure needs a simple majority to pass. Its passage would undo the state’s current 15-week abortion limit.
Arizona is one of nearly a dozen states where pro-abortion activists are working to codify the right to kill the unborn. So far, voters in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, New York, Missouri, and South Dakota will have to opportunity to vote on abortion measures this year. Similar measures are underway in several other states.
Katherine Hamilton is a political reporter for Breitbart News. You can follow her on X @thekat_hamilton.
