Arizona officials certified the state’s election results on November 25, solidifying the passage of the pro-abortion constitutional amendment. Abortion advocates are already signaling their readiness to start a legal fight to take down the state’s current pro-life laws.
Currently, preborn children in the state are protected from abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. The amendment’s passage means this law could soon be eliminated, allowing all abortions up to the arbitrary point of ‘viability’ — and even later to “protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant individual.” Such exceptions, especially mental health exceptions, have been used to abort the preborn child all the way up to birth.
“The position of the state of Arizona will be that we agree that abortion is legal in our state,” Attorney General Kris Mayes said last week at a press conference celebrating the expansion of abortion — though she noted that the state’s current law will need to be reversed in the courts.
“The position of the state of Arizona is that the passage of Prop. 139 makes the 15 week ban… unconstitutional,” she said. “As of 10:12 am when the governor signed the certification, it became unconstitutional. That is a separate matter from whether doctors and providers will be comfortable performing abortions after 15 (weeks).”
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“We’re so excited to see that this is finally coming to fruition,” added Chris Love, a spokesperson for Arizona for Abortion Access. “It’s a lovely day.”
The state has several current pro-life protections in place, such as the requirement that an abortion-minded woman first receive an ultrasound of her child. Another law forbids abortions based on genetic anomalies, while another requires a 24-hour waiting period before a woman can receive an abortion. The abortion industry has indicated it plans to go after every one of these laws.
“All the laws that have currently been on the books are under question and are subject to possible challenges at some point,” said Darrell Hill, policy director at the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona.
Following the election, Arizona Right to Life released a statement calling for all its supporters to continue fighting for the protection of preborn children.
“Our state crossed a dark and tragic threshold with this vote and dealt a devastating blow to humanity,” said the Honorable Jill Norgaard, Chair of Arizona Right to Life. “The passage of this amendment is simply a result of months of lies and manipulation by abortion extremists who tried to scare women that they would lose access to medical care if they were pregnant.”
“Our organization is deeply thankful for our partners and volunteers who stood boldly in this critical fight…We hope to bring more alongside us in the next few weeks and months to continue this battle for life. This fight is not over!”
Call on President Trump to pardon the FACE Act prisoners on his first day in office.
