Anti-life groups promoting abortion-on-demand in Arizona announced Tuesday they will seek to amend the state’s constitution to enshrine a right to abortion in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision last year to overturn Roe v. Wade.
A new political action committee (PAC) that calls itself Arizona for Abortion Access filed to collect signatures to get the Arizona Abortion Access Act on the ballot in 2024, KTARNews reported.
According to the Arizona Secretary of State’s office, the text of the proposed amendment reads:
The Arizona Abortion Access Act amends the Arizona Constitution to establish a fundamental right to abortion that the State may not deny, restrict or interfere with [1] before the point in pregnancy when a health care provider determines that the fetus has a significant likelihood of survival outside the uterus without extraordinary medical measures unless justified by a compelling governmental interest (defined by the act as a law or regulation enacted for the limited purpose of improving or maintaining the health of an individual seeking abortion care, consistent with accepted clinical standards of practice and evidence-based medicine, and that does not infringe on that individual’s autonomous decision-making) that is achieved by the least restrictive means, or [2] after that point in pregnancy if a health care provider determines an abortion is necessary to protect the life or health of the pregnant individual; and under which the State may not penalize individuals or entities for assisting a pregnant individual in exercising their right to abortion.
Supporters of the PAC include the ACLU of Arizona, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona, NARAL Arizona, Affirm Sexual and Reproductive Health, Arizona List, and Healthcare Rising Arizona, noted KTARNews.
“This initiative will bring together a vast coalition of Arizonans from across the state who will stand up and declare that we should be able to make our own health care decisions without interference from politicians,” PAC Chair Dr. Candace Lew said in a press statement.
