In a significant move, Arizona's abortion rights advocates have taken a step forward in their fight for reproductive rights.
On Wednesday, they submitted a substantial number of signatures, exceeding the required amount by more than double, to push for an initiative that would enshrine the right to abortion in the state's constitution. The coalition behind this effort, Arizona for Abortion Access, announced that they had collected 823,685 signatures, far surpassing the 383,923 required to propose a constitutional amendment to voters.
As reported by CBS News, the Arizona Constitution mandates that ballot questions must have valid signatures from 15% of registered voters. The next step involves the secretary of state and county officials processing the petitions to ascertain whether enough valid signatures were collected to place the proposal on the ballot.
The initiative, named the Arizona Abortion Access Act, seeks to amend the state constitution to establish the right to abortion. The proposal outlines that the state would be prohibited from restricting access to abortion before viability, typically around 22 to 24 weeks into a pregnancy. Furthermore, it stipulates that an abortion may be performed after viability if it is necessary to preserve the life or physical or mental health of the mother. The initiative also forbids the state from penalizing anyone assisting a pregnant woman in exercising her right to abortion.
Should the measure make it to the November ballot, Arizona would join a group of at least five other states where voters will decide whether to amend their state constitutions to recognize the right to abortion. These states include Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, and South Dakota. Meanwhile, efforts are in progress in several other states, such as Arkansas, Missouri, Montana, and Nebraska, to bring the issue to the Nov. 5 ballot.
The issue of abortion rights has been a significant motivator for voters since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022, paving the way for states to enact laws restricting access to abortion. Democrats are hopeful that this will continue to be the case in this year's general election.
In the aftermath of the Supreme Court's decision, the abortion rights position has prevailed in seven states where the issue was directly put before voters. In states like Kansas, Kentucky, and Montana, proposals opposing abortion rights failed. Conversely, in California, Michigan, Ohio, and Vermont, measures to enshrine access in state constitutions were successful.
Currently, Arizona bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy. However, the state recently became a battleground over access after its supreme court ruled that an 1864 law criminalizing the procedure, except when necessary to save the mother's life, could be enforced.
This ruling sparked a flurry of legislative activity, with lawmakers moving quickly to repeal the Civil War-era law, which had remained on the books but had not been enforced since the 1973 Roe decision legalizing abortion nationwide. In May, Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, signed a bill repealing the pre-Roe ban, although it won't take effect until 90 days after the end of the state legislative session, which adjourned last month.
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