Arizona abortion rights supporters gather for a press conference before delivering more than 800,000 petition signatures to the state Capitol to put abortion rights on the November general election ballot on July 3, 2024, in Phoenix.
Ross Franklin/AP
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Ross Franklin/AP
Arizona voters will decide in November whether to add abortion rights to the state constitution.
The Arizona Secretary of State’s office said Monday that it had certified 577,971 signatures, well above the number that a coalition supporting the ballot measure must submit to put the issue in front of voters.
The Arizona Abortion Access Coalition said this is the largest number of signatures for a verified citizen initiative in the state’s history.
“This is a huge victory for Arizona voters who will now vote to restore and protect the right to access abortion care, once and for all,” campaign manager Cheryl Bruce said in a statement. free from political interference.
Since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, Democrats have made abortion rights a core message and a key part of their election efforts this year.
This year, the question is before voters in Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, New York and South Dakota.
Arizona law currently prohibits abortion after 15 weeks. The ban, signed into law in 2022, includes exceptions for medical emergencies but limits non-surgical abortions. It also requires an ultrasound before the abortion, as well as the consent of the minor’s parents.
The proposed amendments would allow abortion until the fetus is able to survive outside the womb, usually around 24 weeks, except when necessary to save the mother’s life or protect her physical or mental health. It would restrict states from passing or enforcing any laws prohibiting participation in the process.
Organizers said they initially submitted 823,685 signatures, more than double the 383,923 required to register voters.
Opponents of the measure say it goes too far and could lead to unlimited and unregulated abortion in Arizona.
Supporters, meanwhile, say the constitutional amendment ensures abortion rights cannot be easily erased by court decisions or legislative votes.
In April, the Arizona Supreme Court upheld an 1864 abortion ban that allowed abortions only to save the mother’s life and made no exceptions for survivors of rape or incest, but the Republican-controlled Legislature voted to repeal the Civil War-era ban.
The 19th-century law has been blocked since the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization that struck down constitutional protections for abortion.
