The Arizona Access to Abortion Act, a proposed constitutional amendment that would establish a fundamental right to abortion, has successfully gathered enough signatures to be placed on the state's ballot. The Arizona Secretary of State's office confirmed Monday that the initiative received 577,971 certified signatures, significantly exceeding the required number by nearly 200,000.
The proposed amendment aims to enshrine the right to abortion in the state constitution until fetal viability, which medical professionals generally accept is between 22 and 24 weeks of pregnancy. The group behind the measure, Arizona for Abortion Access, celebrated the achievement, saying they had gathered 50 percent more than the minimum required signatures. This makes it the most signatures ever validated by a citizen initiative in the history of the state.
Campaign Manager Cheryl Bruce expressed her excitement, saying this is an important victory for Arizona voters, who will now have the opportunity to vote to restore and protect the right to access abortion care, free from political interference.
Earlier this year, the Arizona Senate voted to repeal the state's nearly total abortion ban, which had been in place for 160 years. That decision came after the state Supreme Court revived the law, putting reproductive rights in the political spotlight. The law was signed the next day by Democratic Governor Katie Hobbs, who emphasized the importance of protecting women's bodily autonomy and their ability to make their own health care decisions.
Arizona law currently imposes a 15-week limit on abortions, a restriction enacted in 2022 that does not include exceptions for rape and incest cases. This comes in the wake of the US Supreme Court's decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization in June 2022, which eliminated the constitutional right to abortion nationwide. Since then, nearly two dozen US states have banned or limited access to the procedure.
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