(FreePressBeacon.com) – In a new push by abortionists, a proposal aimed at incorporating abortion rights into the Arizona state constitution has progressed toward qualification as an official ballot initiative for the upcoming critical elections in the United States.
On Wednesday, the coalition Arizona for Abortion Access announced it had gathered over 800,000 signatures, more than twice the number required to ensure the measure’s inclusion on the November ballot, The Guardian reports.
Chris Love, a spokesperson for Arizona for Abortion Access, noted that this number of signatures sets a new record for a citizen-initiated ballot measure in Arizona.
“It represents one in five Arizona voters. It’s an amazing feat for us. I think it’s a demonstration of the strength of our campaign and the excitement of Arizona voters to really settle the issue of abortion rights on the ballot in November,” Love said.
Arizona’s legal framework currently restricts most abortions to before 15 weeks of gestation.
However, earlier this year, the state narrowly avoided implementing a near-total ban on abortions dating back to 1864, which was reaffirmed shortly before Arizona achieved statehood.
This historical statute almost came into effect following a ruling by the Arizona Supreme Court in April.
The ruling led to an intense several-week-long debate in the state legislature, where despite a slim Republican majority in both chambers, Democratic legislators managed to repeal the 1864 ban with support from a few dissenting Republican lawmakers.
“Our message has always been the same: pregnant patients deserve the freedom to make their individual and personal health care decisions, and especially decisions about abortions, with their families and their health care providers,” Love asserted.
“The back and forth that just happened with respect to the 1864 ban is a clear demonstration of why we need politicians out of the calculus,” he added.
Should the electorate approve the Arizona Abortion Access Act, the state’s 15-week abortion ban would be abolished, establishing the right to an abortion up to the point of fetal viability, generally recognized at about 24 weeks of pregnancy.
Furthermore, abortions beyond this stage would be permissible if deemed necessary by a healthcare professional to safeguard the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant individual.
In the broader national context, approximately a dozen states, including Arizona and the similarly pivotal state of Nevada, are slated to feature abortion rights measures on their November ballots.
Activists in states like Nebraska and Arkansas are also expected to submit signatures supporting similar measures this week.
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