UPDATE, 4/29/21: Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed pro-life bill SB 1457 into law on April 27, banning abortions based on a genetic prenatal diagnosis such as Down syndrome or cystic fibrosis.
“Every life holds immeasurable value—regardless of genetic makeup,” Ducey tweeted. “Today I signed legislation to prioritize life in our preborn children and protect those with genetic abnormalities. Arizona remains among the top pro-life states in the nation, and my sincere thanks goes to Senator Nancy Barto for her leadership and work on this life-saving issue and to those who supported this bill.”
Under the new law, abortionists who abort a baby due to a genetic diagnosis could face prison time. In addition, SB 1457 places a ban on mailing the abortion pill to women and requires fetal remains to be buried or cremated. According to USA Today, the law also places new reporting requirements on abortion businesses, bans public institutions from committing abortions unless the mother’s life is in danger (abortion is never medically necessary), and bans public funding from paying for research involving aborted babies.
4/23/21: Pro-life Arizona Senate Bill 1457 is heading to Republican Governor Doug Ducey’s desk after multiple rounds of voting in the House and Senate, including failing to pass in the Senate during the third reading earlier in April.
In addition to banning the targeting and extermination of babies with prenatal diagnoses such as Down syndrome, SB 1457 seeks to halt the deadly expansion of the abortion pill by mail, a campaign Big Abortion is pushing at the cost of women and children. If signed into law, this legislation will also require dignified treatment of the bodies of aborted babies.
READ: South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem signs Down syndrome abortion ban into law
State Senator Nancy Barto, a Republican official who previously served in the State House prior to the 2021 election, sponsored the bill. She said in an interview with EWTN, “More and more children throughout the world and the United States are being singled out for abortion, and they are the most vulnerable among us.” It is estimated that over two thirds of babies diagnosed in the womb with Down syndrome in America are aborted, and 90% worldwide are killed for the same diagnosis.
According to a recent Marist poll, the majority of Americans do not support discriminatory abortions, with 70% opposing killing children based on a prenatal diagnosis such as Down syndrome. This includes 56% who identify as pro-choice, 59% who are Democrats, and 70% who are Independents. The majority’s disapproval of discriminatory abortion sheds light on the horror of abortion at large — if targeting certain demographics like disabled babies, female babies, or Black babies is wrong, then how can the practice of directly and intentionally killing any preborn child be acceptable? The answer: it isn’t.
Some other states have passed or are seeking to pass similar legislation to protect their most vulnerable citizens. It’s time for the rest of the States to join them, but not to stop there. It is time to end abortion completely.
Editor’s Note, 4/23/21: This article originally stated that the bill had passed both the House and Senate and was headed to the governor’s desk on April 5, however, the bill still had to pass another round in the Senate. We regret the error.
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