Arizona ballot measure would expand access after tumultuous back-and-forth on laws

Activists discuss abortion access with voters at the entrance to the Murphy-Wilmot Library in Tucson, Arizona.
Activists discuss abortion access with voters at the entrance to the Murphy-Wilmot Library in Tucson, Arizona, on October 16, 2024. (OLIVIER TOURON/AFP/Getty Images)

Arizonans are voting on a ballot measure that would expand access to abortion in the state.

It’s one of 10 states where voters are weighing in on abortion on the ballot this year.

Arizona for Abortion Access, a coalition of reproductive rights groups, submitted over 820,000 signatures to put a constitutional amendment on the 2024 ballot that would guarantee a right to abortion. The measure would protect abortion rights up to the point of fetal viability, which is determined by physicians but is usually around 22 to 25 weeks of pregnancy. More than one in five registered voters in Arizona signed petitions to get the measure on the ballot, the group said.

Currently, Arizona bans abortion after 15 weeks of pregnancy with no exceptions for rape or incest.

The vote comes after a tumultuous back-and-forth this spring, when a state Supreme Court decision said Arizona could enforce a near-total abortion ban passed in 1864. The decision sparked outrage in Arizona, leading the state legislature to repeal the 19th-century law.

Arizona is a swing state in the presidential race; President Joe Biden won in 2020 by just over 10,000 votes. Abortion is also likely to be a significant issue in Arizona’s competitive U.S. Senate election.

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