Arizona voters will get to decide if they want to add the right to an abortion to the state constitution in November, CBS News reported.
The deputy communications officer for the Arizona Secretary of State’s office confirmed Monday that it certified 577,971 valid signatures that were turned in by a coalition of reproductive rights organizations, dubbed Arizona for Abortion Access. The coalition includes the American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona.
The number of signatures collected far surpassed the required number of just under 384,000; it is the most signatures validated for a citizen initiative in state history. Asa result, it will put the key issue of major reproductive rights measures directly before voters in a swing state that President Joe Biden won in 2020 by a little over 10,000 votes, NBC News reported.
“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,” campaign manager Cheryl Bruce said in a statement provided to NBC News.
Currently, Arizona law bans abortions after 15 weeks and requires an ultrasound before an abortion is done, as well as parental consent for minors. Should the proposed amendment come into effect, abortions would be permitted until a fetus could survive outside the womb, which is typically around 24 weeks. The amendment would still provide exceptions to save the mother’s life or to otherwise protect her physical or mental health.
Reproductive rights questions are also scheduled to go before voters in Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, Nevada, New York, and South Dakota this year, potentially boosting the chances of Democrats who blame former President Donald Trump for state abortion passes imposed following the 2022 overturning of Roe v. Wade.