It's Official! Abortion Is On The Ballot In Arizona!
It's Official! Abortion Is On The Ballot In Arizona!
This is excellent for a number of reasons!
It’s official! Arizona voters will get a chance this November to put abortion rights in their state constitution. The petition to add the measure got 577,971 signatures approved (out of the 800,000 they submitted). That’s 200,000 more than they needed and the most signatures for any ballot measure in the state’s history.
That sounds pretty promising, no?
Right now, the state only allows abortion up to 15 weeks, with the only exception thereafter being for the life or health of the mother, and includes a number of restrictions that make it difficult to get one even then. It also does not include an exception for rape or incest.
“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,” Cheryl Bruce, the campaign manager for Arizona for Abortion Access, a coalition of abortion rights groups that organized to get the measure on the ballot, said in a statement.
The proposed amendment — Proposition 139 on the ballot — would allow abortion up to fetal viability, around 24 weeks into a pregnancy, with exceptions thereafter for the physical or mental health of the mother.
The amendment would also bar the state from restricting abortion in any way unless it “(1) is solely to protect the health of the patient, (2) doesn’t infringe on their autonomous decision making, and (3) uses only the least restrictive means.”
That’s a long way from the creepy Victorian-era abortion law that Republican lawmakers were trying to hang on to earlier this year.
Unfortunately, it’s not smooth sailing just yet — the Republican-controlled Legislature is still pushing to have the word “fetus” replaced with “unborn human being” and Arizona Right to Life has appealed a judge’s decision to reject their challenge to the petition.
The group claimed that the wording used on the petitions is misleading because they said “healthcare provider” instead of “treating health care provider” — which they say made people think that a “neutral” healthcare provider would be making the decision rather than an abortion provider. The lawsuit was rejected on the grounds that the judge was pretty sure that people know what healthcare providers are.
“Reasonable people understand that medical diagnoses and treatment plans are typically determined by the medical provider who is actively treating a patient whose health is at issue,” Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Melissa Iyer Julian wrote. “For pregnant patients, this could include the patient’s primary care, obstetrical, or other medical providers, including one who provides abortions.”
In a video shared to social media on Monday, Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D), acknowledged that there could be more lawsuits ahead, as well.
Fontes also praised the state’s democratic process for allowing citizens to help shape laws in this way.
Now, we want to be careful, to some degree, about pushing the idea that abortion ballot measures will give Democrats a boost on the ballot. There are a lot of Republicans who, on the sly, will vote for them as well (and we want them to). But it’s worth noting that Arizona is a swing state and energizing voters who care about reproductive rights certainly couldn’t hurt the Harris campaign.
So far, every time abortion has been on the ballot, it has won — and polls already show that most Arizonans support expanding abortion rights, so seems pretty likely this will pass.
PREVIOUSLY ON WONKETTE!:
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose arbitrarily changed the language in the ballot description from fetus to unborn baby.
Tactically, it was a huge success. We only approved the amendment by 57%.
Ta, Robyn. Legs, I mean FINGERS crossed.