Arizona abortion law makes the choice clear for women: We must now fight for our lives
Corrections & Clarifications: An earlier version of this column misstated when Arizona's 15-week abortion ban was signed.
Arizona’s Supreme Court just re-instated the near-total abortion ban, turning back the clock on women to the territorial era.
Tuesday’s ruling is deeply troubling and utterly predictable since the U.S. Supreme overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, giving states the power to decide the future of reproductive rights.
It’s what Donald Trump and his allies wanted when as president he picked ultra-conservative justices for the high court. They promised not to touch Roe v. Wade during their confirmation hearings, only to gut it once they got the job.
With the fight moving to states, Arizona is now stuck with an 1864 law that prohibits nearly all abortions except to save the life of the mother. It punishes doctors with mandatory 2- to 5-year prison sentences.
Arizona's abortion law is no coincidence
Stripping women of the constitutional right they’ve enjoyed nationwide for more than a half a century has medical and political consequences.
Voters in November must enshrine that right in the state’s constitution — not for political revenge but for literal survival and for the freedom to make a personal choice on whether to end a pregnancy or not.
Nothing happens in a vacuum or suddenly. This ruling is a direct result of years of coordinated and carefully crafted campaigns to end reproductive rights and freedoms.
The pill will end: The abortion debate as we know it
It’s no coincidence that then-Republican Gov. Doug Ducey signed the state’s 15-week abortion ban just before Roe v. Wade was gutted.
Republican-led states had anticipated the end of the Roe v. Wade and were ready with legislation to ban abortion. Since then, 14 states have made it illegal with various degree of penalties.
Abortion remains legal in states like California, Oregon, Washington, New York and Minnesota.
Women can vote. This is their choice now
This kind of hodgepodge abortion access isn’t by coincidence. It’s by design. That was the intent all along.
In Arizona, the fight now is at the ballot box — as it must be.
Reproductive rights advocates have said that they have already collected enough signatures to put the issue before voters in November.
That initiative would allow abortion up to 24 weeks of gestation. After that timeframe or what is referred to as viability, exceptions would be allowed if a doctor deems the procedure necessary to “protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant individual.”
Arizonans must decide whether they want a law crafted during the Civil War era or live in the 21st century, when women are equipped with the right to vote and the right to decide for themselves.
Elvia Díaz is editorial page editor for The Arizona Republic and azcentral. Reach her at 602-444-8606 or [email protected]. Follow her on X, (formerly Twitter), @elviadiaz1.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Arizona abortion law is clear: Women must now fight for our lives
