Arizona abortion rights measure will be on November ballot
The Arizona Abortion Access Act received 577,971 certified signatures, the Arizona secretary of state’s office confirmed Monday – nearly 200,000 more than required to appear on the November ballot. An estimated 800,000 signatures were submitted, the office said.
The measure would enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution up to fetal viability, which doctors believe is around 22 to 24 weeks of pregnancy.
“Today, we got word that Arizona’s 15 counties finished their review of a random sample of our signatures and the Secretary of State confirmed that we gathered far more than enough valid signatures, 50 percent above the required minimum. It is the most signatures ever validated by a citizen’s initiative in state history,” Arizona for Abortion Access, the group behind the measure, celebrated in a statement.
“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,” said campaign manager Cheryl Bruce.
In May, the Arizona Senate voted to repeal the state’s 160-year-old near-total abortion ban, after the state Supreme Court revived the law and thrust reproductive rights into the political spotlight.
Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs signed the legislation the next day and said, “We should recommit to protecting women’s bodily autonomy, their ability to make their own health care decisions and the ability to control their lives.”
Arizona law currently imposes a 15-week limit for abortions. That restriction, enacted in 2022, does not include exceptions for rape and incest.
Following the US Supreme Court’s June 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which eliminated a constitutional right to abortion nationwide, nearly two dozen US stateshave banned or limited access to the procedure.
The Arizona Abortion Access Act's success in collecting more than enough valid signatures for the ballot has sparked intense political discussions in Arizona.
Given the recent repeal of Arizona's nearly century-old abortion ban and the subsequent political debates, the enshrined right to abortion up to fetal viability could significantly shape Arizona's political landscape.
