Arizona group wants voters (yes, you!) to decide abortion issue
Voters should decide this one.
Not governors. Not legislators. Not courts.
Voters.
Us.
Determining the abortion policy in Arizona is an issue taylor made for the statewide initiative process that was so wisely included in the state’s constitution.
Hopefully, next year, we’ll get the chance to make that decision.
Group wants to put abortion on the ballot
A recently formed political action committee, Arizona for Abortion Access, will attempt to collect 383,923 valid signatures before July 3, 2024, in order to put in the constitution a law that would guarantee the right to an abortion up to fetal viability, which is roughly 22 to 24 weeks.
Yes or no.
It’s the kind of decision that shouldn’t be made by special interest groups. Or by a controlling party in the Leglsiature. Or by the governor.
It should be made by us.
The news of the coalition was first reported by The Washington Post.
Since then, the group has made a public announcement.
Other states have sent this to a public vote
In a statement its chair, Dr. Candace Lew, said, “This initiative will bring together a vast coalition of Arizonans from across the state who will stand up and declare that we should be able to make our own health care decisions without interference from politicians.”
Several other states have gone the way of public votes since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
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There is a 15-week abortion restriction in Arizona, a law passed by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed by former Gov. Doug Ducey.
But not long ago Gov. Katie Hobbs issued an executive order that essentially removed from county attorneys the authority to prosecute abortion related cases and handed that authority to Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes who, like Hobbs, ran on a pledge to protect and preserve reproductive rights.
That kind of back-and-forth fight over abortion policy is the future without a constitutional amendment.
Women's health depends on this certainty
The ramification of such uncertainty is not only bad news for women’s reproductive health, it’s bad news for women’s health, period.
A study by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services indicated that Arizona may have 30% fewer OB-GYNs than the state needs by 2030 owing to current policy.
Likewise, data from the Association of American Medical Colleges showed that states with abortion bans saw a 10.5% decrease in applications for obstetrics and gynecology residencies in 2023.
Katie McHugh, an Indiana-based obstetrician-gynecologist and board member with Physicians for Reproductive Health, said, “Physicians do not go to medical school and go into the practice of medicine because we enjoy interfacing with the legal profession.”
Putting the abortion issue to a public vote will not settle the issue. Nothing will ever settle the issue.
But at least it will be a policy decided by voters, and we’ll know where we stand.
For now.
Reach Montini at ed.montini@arizonarepublic.com.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Abortion should be on the 2024 ballot. Let Arizona voters decide
