How the actions of anti-abortion extremists could secure Arizona abortion rights

EJ Montini, Arizona Republic
·3 min read
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Thousands of people march outside the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix to protest the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization on June 24, 2022. The court's decision overturns the nearly 50-year-old Roe v. Wade ruling, which established the legal right to abortion in the country.
Thousands of people march outside the Arizona Capitol in Phoenix to protest the Supreme Court decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization on June 24, 2022. The court's decision overturns the nearly 50-year-old Roe v. Wade ruling, which established the legal right to abortion in the country.

If I was running the public awareness campaign to get a constitutional amendment guaranteeing abortion rights on the Arizona ballot in 2024, I would be out there doing … absolutely nothing.

Nada.

Zilch.

Bupkis.

Because as things stand, the Republican zealots who want to make Arizona the most restrictive state when it comes to reproductive health are doing everything in the power to make your case for you.

They'd return Arizona to an 1864 ban

First, the Legislature’s Republican leadership went along with the effort to put into force an 1864 abortion ban that comes with a two- to five-year prison sentence for anyone providing an abortion.

Since that law had never been wiped from the books, such a thing became possible when the U.S. Supreme Court tossed nearly 50 years of precedent and overturned the Roe v. Wade decision that had affirmed a woman’s constitutional right to abortion.

Now thanks (no thanks) to the far right-wing Alliance Defending Freedom, the Arizona Supreme Court will decide if the Civil War ban should be reinstated.

If that wasn’t enough, the same GOP stalwarts have further bolstered the cause of reproductive rights by defending in court an Arizona law to ban abortions sought because of “genetic abnormalities,” something that puts doctors and families into a terrible social, emotional and legal bind.

Poll backs group seeking ballot initiative

Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes said she would not defend the law.

She could make the argument that her constituents wouldn’t want her to do so. In 2022, a poll conducted by the nonpartisan Public Religion Research Institute found that 62% of Arizonans support legalized abortion.

A coalition of abortion rights advocates is counting on that majority to pass a state constitutional amendment guaranteeing abortion rights up to fetal viability, or around 24 weeks. The group behind what they call the Arizona for Abortion Access initiative hopes to start collecting those signatures this month.

Montini: Mexico is now more progressive than AZ on abortion

On their website they describe themselves as “a coalition of reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations working to ensure Arizonans can make the decisions that are best for them and their families — free from government interference.”

It'll pass with help from abortion foes

They’re hoping to put what would become a constitutional amendment on the ballot but will need to collect at least 383,923 valid signatures by July to do so.

Chris Love, senior adviser to Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona, said of the effort, “We know the work for achieving reproductive freedom is an uphill battle, and this ballot initiative is the next critical step in our renewed drive to protect the health and freedom of our patients and our communities.”

That shouldn’t be a problem so long as Arizona for Abortion Access continues to receive so much consistent and solid support from … the opposition.

Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona anti-abortion zealots are ensuring abortion rights