Advocates want to amend Arizona’s constitution to protect abortion, following the lead of other states that have enshrined abortion access into their constitutions following the overturning of Roe v. Wade last year.
The groups leading the effort must collect 383,923 signatures by July 3, 2024.
Background:
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Abortions in Arizona are currently banned after 15 weeks, and state Medicaid coverage for terminating pregnancies is prohibited outside of some limited circumstances.
- The amendment would make abortion legal up until the point of viability outside the womb, typically around 22 to 24 weeks of pregnancy.
The ballot measure represents the latest attempts by abortion rights groups to try to circumvent conservative politicians pushing strict abortion bans and put the issue directly to voters.
Meanwhile in Ohio, those conservative politicians are fighting back, and voters head to the polls Tuesday for an election about one issue: ballot measures.
It’s a proxy fight over abortion and a preview of what could happen in the fall when legalizing abortion will be on the ballot. A constitutional amendment would allow abortion up until the point of fetal viability.
If Issue 1 passes this week, the threshold to enact future changes will be raised from a simple majority to 60 percent. However, Issue 1 will only need a simple majority to pass.
Every state that put abortion on the ballot in 2022 voted in favor of protecting access to the procedure in some way, including GOP-leaning Kentucky and Kansas. None of those measures passed with 60 percent of the vote.
