500,000 Arizonans Support Abortion Rights Ballot Measure

April 10, 2024 : A political action committee (PAC) advocating for Abortion Rights in Arizona, Arizona for Abortion Access, announced that it had collected well over the required number of signatures to place a proposed constitutional amendment on the upcoming November ballot. This amendment, if passed by voters, would enshrine abortion rights within the Arizona state constitution.

The group claims to have secured more than 500,000 signatures in support of the ballot measure. The minimum number of valid signatures required to qualify a citizen’s initiative for the Arizona ballot in a general election is 383,923. Arizona for Abortion Access highlights that they have surpassed this threshold by a significant margin, aiming to ensure a sufficient cushion for potential invalidated signatures during the verification process.

The proposed amendment seeks to establish a constitutional right to abortion access in Arizona. It would allow for abortions to be performed up to the point of fetal viability, which is generally considered to be around 24 weeks of pregnancy. Exceptions to this limit would be permitted in situations where the health of the pregnant woman is at risk.

This initiative comes in response to the recent overturning of Roe v. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court. The landmark 1973 decision had previously established a federal constitutional right to abortion. With its reversal, the legal landscape surrounding abortion has shifted, leaving individual states with the authority to regulate or restrict abortion access.

Arizona’s legal situation regarding abortion is currently unclear. An existing pre-Roe abortion ban could potentially go into effect. However, the Arizona Supreme Court is currently considering a separate lawsuit challenging the validity of this ban. The ballot measure spearheaded by Arizona for Abortion Access aims to bypass this legal uncertainty by directly seeking voter approval for abortion rights within the state constitution.

The group plans to continue collecting signatures until the July 3rd deadline. This additional time allows them to further bolster their position and potentially influence public discourse on the issue leading up to the November election. The success of this ballot measure hinges on voter turnout and public opinion on abortion rights in Arizona.

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