Legal challenges loom as abortion is enshrined in Arizona’s constitution
PHOENIX — Top Arizona officials certified the state’s election results on Monday Voter approval of a measure expanding access to abortion from 15 weeks to the point of fetal viability.
The victory for reproductive rights groups sets the stage for their next fight: challenging other Arizona laws they say are too restrictive. The Closure of 15 weeksFor example, exceptions are only possible if the mother’s life is in danger.
Without a court order or legislative action, these laws will remain unchanged, even if they conflict with the voter-approved measure. Opponents of the constitutional amendment are preparing a defense.
For now, providers have the freedom to perform abortions after 15 weeks. Legal challenges are expected within days, Attorney General Kris Mayes said at a news conference celebrating the expanded access.
“The position of the state of Arizona will be that we agree that abortion is legal in our state,” Mayes said.
Arizona was one of five states where voters in the 2024 general election approved ballot measures to add abortion rights to their state constitutions. Nevada voters also approved an amendment, but they will have to approve it again in 2026 for it to take effect. Another banning discrimination based on “pregnancy results” made the rounds in New York.
Abortion has long been a major political issue in the US, but has become a defining issue since the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, paving the way for states to ban or restrict access. Most Republican-controlled states have done so, and abortion rights groups have pushed back with ballot measures. Earlier this year, Arizonans were faced with the possibility of living under a almost total abortion ban.
Chris Love, a spokesman for Arizona Abortion Access, said the constitutional amendment is the result of two years of hard work.
“We are so excited to see this finally become a reality,” Love said Monday. “It’s a beautiful day.”
Cathi Herrod, president of the socially conservative Center for Arizona Policy, said the organization expects legal challenges to current laws regulating abortion and is preparing to “intervene where necessary.”
One of the current laws is one that requires patients to undergo an ultrasound at least 24 hours before the procedure, with the opportunity to view the image and hear an explanation of what is in it. Another group criminalizes abortions sought solely because of a genetic abnormality.
“All laws currently on the books are up for debate and subject to potential challenges at some point,” said Darrell Hill, policy director at the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona.
Planned Parenthood affiliates in Missouri immediately filed a lawsuit after a ballot measure there passed earlier this month seeking to invalidate bans and other abortion-restricting laws. The circumstances are different there, because that state currently has a ban on abortion at all stages of pregnancy and there are no clinics that offer it. A hearing is scheduled for December 4.
Earlier in the day, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs contrasted Monday’s statewide election results with those four years ago, which she said took place against the backdrop of “raging conspiracies and efforts to stop certification across the country ‘, which led to the January election results. 6 rebellion. She said she was grateful this time was different.
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes said voters across the state cast 3,428,011 ballots in the 2024 election, an increase of 7,446 votes from 2020.
Registered voter turnout remained relatively unchanged, just below 80%. Turnout was 79% for the 2020 election and 78% for the 2024 election. ___ Associated Press writer Geoff Mulvihill in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, contributed to this report. Sandoval is a staff member of the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.