The Arizona Secretary of State’s office announced Monday that Proposition 139, the ballot initiative that would enshrine abortion as a constitutional ‘right,’ will go before voters this November. Arizona for Abortion Access, the group behind the proposition, is a coalition of several pro-abortion groups, including the ACLU of Arizona and Planned Parenthood of Arizona.
Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said Arizona for Abortion Access turned in an estimated 577,971 valid petition signatures in support of the amendment, which would create a “fundamental right” to abortion in the state constitution. This “right” would be to intentionally kill preborn children up to so-called ‘viability,’ an arbitrary pregnancy marker usually designated to be around 24 weeks — though children born as early as 21 weeks have survived.
“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, said in a statement.
Abortion opponents warn that the proposed amendment contains enough vague exceptions that it could allow abortion all the way up to birth, while also opening the door to the repeal of common-sense abortion restrictions, like the state’s parental notification law, which protects minors.
“Under the amendment, a 14-year-old girl could order the abortion pill through the mail and take it without doctor or parental oversight and go through hours of what can be a traumatic and painful experience left alone to deal with the results and realities of abortion,” warns the group It Goes Too Far in a video PSA.
Abortion is currently legal in Arizona up to 15 weeks. Before Fontes certified the signatures, he quipped that he expects the ballot measure to open the door to legal battles in relation to the state’s current law. “I’m going to be signing off on a certificate that’s going to create, well, — it’s going to create a bunch of lawsuits,” he said, before affixing the seal of the state to the measure’s paperwork.
In addition, the Arizona Supreme Court has ruled that the informational pamphlet on a proposed pro-abortion amendment to the state Constitution can refer to a preborn baby as an “unborn human being.” However, the actual language on the ballot will remain unchanged, continuing to use the term “fetus.”
Arizona for Abortion Access had filed a lawsuit, arguing that the word “fetus” should be used instead because “unborn human being” is too politically charged. Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Christopher Whitten agreed, ruling earlier this month that the pamphlet should have more “neutral” language. But the state Supreme Court thought otherwise.
Arizona for Abortion Access said it is “disappointed” with the court’s decision.
“We are deeply disappointed in this ruling, but will not be deterred from doing everything in our power to communicate to voters the truth of the Arizona Abortion Access Act and why it’s critical to vote YES to restore and protect access to abortion care this fall,” the group said in a statement.
