Phoenix (AP) Top officials in Arizona certified the results of Monday’s election, which included the ratification of a proposition by voters to increase access to abortion from 15 weeks to the threshold of fetal viability.
Reproductive rights organizations’ victory paves the way for their next fight against other Arizona laws they claim are overly restrictive. For instance, the 15-week cutoff only permits exceptions in cases where the mother’s life is in danger.
Even if those laws are in disagreement with the proposition that was adopted by the voters, they will not be amended unless a court order or parliamentary action is issued. The constitutional amendment’s opponents are getting ready to mount a defense.
For the time being, clinicians will be free to conduct abortions after 15 weeks. At a press conference commemorating increased access, Attorney General Kris Mayes stated that legal challenges are anticipated in the coming days.
According to Mayes, the state of Arizona will take the stance that abortion is permitted in our state.
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs celebrates passages of abortion ballot measure surrounded by Democratic lawmakers and advocates on Monday, Nov. 25, 2024, at the State Capitol in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Sejal Govindarao)
Sejal Govindarao/Associated Press photo
In the general election of 2024, ballot propositions to include the right to an abortion in state constitutions were approved by voters in five states, including Arizona. An amendment was also adopted by Nevada voters, but it won’t go into force until 2026 unless it is passed again. In New York, another that forbids discrimination based on pregnancy results won victorious.
Although abortion has always been a significant political issue in the United States, it has taken on a defining role since the U.S. Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade in 2022, allowing states to restrict or even prohibit access. Abortion rights organizations have been pushing back through ballot measures, and the majority of states with Republican leadership have done the same. Arizonans might have to live with a nearly complete abortion ban earlier this year.
The constitutional amendment, according to Arizona for Abortion Access spokesperson Chris Love, is the result of two years of arduous labor.
“We’re thrilled that this is finally happening,” Love stated on Monday. The day is beautiful.
The socially conservative Center for Arizona Policy’s president, Cathi Herrod, stated that the group is ready to step in when necessary and is expecting legal challenges to the state’s present abortion regulations.
One such rule mandates that patients undergo an ultrasound at least 24 hours before to the procedure, with the opportunity to view the image and receive an explanation of its contents. Another makes it illegal to have an abortion if you want one just because of a genetic defect.
According to Darrell Hill, policy director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona, every law that is now in effect is being questioned and could eventually be challenged.
Following the passage of a ballot initiative in Missouri earlier this month, Planned Parenthood affiliates filed a lawsuit almost away in an attempt to have the prohibitions and other laws restricting abortion declared unconstitutional. Because abortion is currently illegal in that state at all stages of pregnancy and no clinics offer it, the situation is different there. On December 4, a hearing is planned.
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs earlier in the day compared Monday’s statewide canvass of election results to the one that took place four years prior, claiming that it was conducted amid flaming conspiracies and nationwide attempts to halt certification, which resulted in the Jan. 6 uprising. She expressed gratitude that this time was different.
According to Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, 3,428,011 ballots were cast in the 2024 election, an increase of 7,446 from 2020.
At slightly less than 80%, the registered voter turnout stayed mostly unchanged. In 2020, 79% of voters cast ballots, while in 2024, 78% did so. ___ This report was written by Geoff Mulvihill of the Associated Press in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. Sandoval is a member of the Statehouse News Initiative’s Associated Press/Report for America corps.A nonprofit national service initiative called Report for America places reporters in local newsrooms to explore topics that aren’t often covered.
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