Article Summary –
The Arizona for Abortion Access campaign successfully gathered over 800,000 signatures, more than double the required amount, for a ballot initiative to constitutionally protect the right to abortion in the state. If ratified by voters in the November general election, the “Arizona Abortion Access Act” will establish a fundamental right to abortion health care in the state. The act would allow abortion access up to the point of fetal viability, permit abortions if needed to protect the patient’s health, and prevent future laws from penalizing anyone assisting an individual in obtaining an abortion.
Arizona moves closer to constitutionally protecting abortion, as the Arizona for Abortion Access initiative yields over 800,000 signatures, backing a ballot measure to safeguard abortion rights. The Arizona Secretary of State’s office received the petitions on July 3.
The signatures, gathered from Arizonans supporting the inclusion of the ballot measure in the general election, might see the “Arizona Abortion Access Act” on the November ballot if 383,923 are verified as registered voters.
What does the ballot measure aim to achieve?
With majority voter approval in November, the “Arizona Abortion Access Act” would amend the state constitution to enshrine abortion health care as a fundamental right.
Following the US Supreme Court’s 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade, similar initiatives have successfully passed in California, Kansas, Kentucky, Michigan, Vermont, and Ohio.
The Arizona for Abortion Access campaign, represented by spokeswoman Dawn Penich, credited over 7,000 volunteers for the 823,685 signatures, which is a state record for a citizen-led ballot initiative.
The campaign delivered hundreds of boxes of petitions to Secretary of State Adrian Fontes’ office amidst supporters of the ballot measure. Fontes commended the citizens’ exercise of their First Amendment rights.
Arizona for Abortion Access targeted twice the required signatures to cushion against the signature challenge process, which might invalidate enough signatures to prevent the measure from making the ballot.
Arizona currently enforces a 15-week abortion ban without exceptions for rape or incest. The state Supreme Court once supported an 1864 total abortion ban, subsequently repealed by the state House of Representatives and state Senate Democrats and five Republicans.
The proposed Arizona Abortion Access Act aims to reinstate abortion access up to fetal viability, permit abortion to protect a patient’s health, and forbid future laws that penalize anyone who assists someone accessing an abortion.
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