A political action committee, Arizona for Abortion Access, has filed a proposed constitutional amendment that would enshrine a right to abortion in the state constitution, including late-term abortion. The amendment would remove current safety standards of medical care regarding abortion, allow for late-term abortions, open the door to more taxpayer-funded abortions and eliminate parental consent laws that are in place to protect minors. The proponents of this amendment are in the process of acquiring the required signatures needed to put this proposed amendment on the November ballot. Currently, abortion is legal in Arizona up to 15 weeks into pregnancy, or at any time in pregnancy if the life of the mother is at risk.
Planned Parenthood, NARAL and others are engaged in efforts to collect just over 380,000 signatures by July 3, 2024, to move forward the process of getting their proposal on the ballot. According to the Planned Parenthood website, the group collecting the signatures, Arizona for Abortion Access, has gathered more than 500,000 signatures.
A pro-life coalition is pushing back. The group, It Goes Too Far, launched a campaign showing how extreme this measure is and pointing to the dangers it represents for women and young girls. The proposed amendment would eliminate “safety precautions designed to avoid complications or save a girl’s life in case of complications, and other reasonable measures would be forbidden and unenforceable,” said campaign manager Leisa Brug.
The Arizona Catholic Conference is working alongside the coalition to educate people in the pews. The website explains the dangers of this proposed amendment and with a letter from all the state’s bishops shows why citizens of Arizona should decline to sign the petition to put this measure on the ballot.
On Tuesday, April 9, the Arizona Supreme Court issued a ruling that an 1864 law, banning abortion except for life of the mother, took precedence over the 15-week ban that was signed into law in 2022. The court said that enforcement could begin 14 days from the date of the decision. However, Attorney General Kristin Mayes said that no doctor or woman would be prosecuted under the law.
The bishops of Arizona issued a statement on the supreme court decision.
