Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs vetoed a bill Thursday that would have ensured life-saving protections for infants born alive during a botched abortion.
Senate Bill 1600, the “Born Alive Bill,” would require hospitals and abortion facilities to provide life-saving measures to any child born alive following an abortion attempt, regardless of that child’s age or stage of development. It would also have these facilities keep abortion reporting records. Though it passed both the House and the Senate, it did not get past the desk of Hobbs, who has vowed to “veto any bill that interferes with the reproductive rights of Arizonans.”
Hobbs explained her reasoning in a letter addressed to Senate President, Warren Petersen.
“The bill is uniformly opposed by the medical community, and interferes with the relationship between a patient and doctor,” she wrote. “It’s simply not the state’s role to make such difficult medical decisions for patients.”
Abortion supporters praised Hobbs’ decision, claiming the law would somehow threaten doctors and shame women. In reality, however, the bill simply ensured that children born alive would have received the medical treatment they deserve as human beings.
“Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona will not stand by while anti-abortion politicians threaten doctors for doing their job and shame patients who need access to reproductive health care throughout their pregnancies,” said CEO of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona Brittany Fonteno.
Alliance Defending Freedom Senior Counsel Denise Burke spoke out against the veto.
“Gov. Hobbs has made it clear: She would rather cater to the abortion industry than affirm the basic human rights of vulnerable children,” she said. “Her failure to protect the lives of children once they are outside of the womb is unthinkable and inexcusable.”
The Center for Arizona Policy also blasted the veto, noting that it now essentially gives approval for infanticide in the state.
In case you missed it last week, Gov. @katiehobbs had her Veto stamp working hard. This time the veto gives the OK to INFANTICIDE! If you did miss it you're not alone, most of the major media outlets in AZ did too. Read more about it here:https://t.co/m4RgA1v5Iq pic.twitter.com/6auopwfyfQ
— Center for AZ Policy (@azpolicy) April 10, 2023
“Governor Hobbs played coy during her campaign but now her radical views are on full display; she just gave the okay to infanticide,” said the group’s president Cathi Herrod in a statement. “Hobbs vetoed a bill today that would have outlawed the intentional hastening of a newborn’s death. The veto allows healthcare workers to withhold needed medical care from newborns, sanctioning death by neglect… Death by neglect is not healthcare. SB 1600 would have ensured those newborns got the chance to beat the odds and live. It is what every human deserves and what every parent expects from healthcare providers entrusted with the lives of new babies.”
