Arizona voters pass constitutional amendment guaranteeing abortion access

PHOENIX – Arizonans approved a ballot measure to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution , according to a call by the Associated Press.

Since 2022, Arizona has enforced a law banning abortions after the 15th week of pregnancy. Proposition 139 will amend the state constitution to guarantee abortions access up to the point of fetal viability — around 24 weeks. The measure also allows exceptions for abortions beyond the point of viability to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant person.

Opponents decried the measure as dangerously broad. They argued the state's abortion law already allowed enough access, since most abortions take before the 15th week of pregnancy, and said current restrictions made reasonable exceptions for miscarriages and pregnancy-related medical emergencies.

But supporters said the 15-week law created traumatic obstacles for women facing complications later in pregnancy and forced some women to leave the state for abortions.

Arizona is one of 10 states where abortion was on the ballot this year.

Multiple polls leading up to Election Day suggested the measure had enough support among voters to pass.

"I've always felt that once we were on the ballot we would win because our position is really popular," said Chris Love, a spokesperson for the amendment effort.

To qualify for ballots, supporters of the citizen-led initiative gathered over 800,000 signatures — more than double the required threshold — and raised $32 million — 25 times more than opponents raised.

Arizona's 15-week abortion law is expected to fall once the new constitutional amendment goes into effect.

But Arizona has dozens of other laws on the books regulating abortion. There's a required 24-hour waiting period for patients, a law barring abortion medication through the mail and a requirement that patients have an ultrasound before the procedure, which may be medically unnecessary. Those laws are now likely to be challenged in court.

"There will be a lot of litigation trying to figure out exactly what it means," said Barbara Atwood, professor of law emerita at the University of Arizona. "There will be a period of some uncertainty about which of the existing laws – on informed consent, waiting periods, the 15-week law itself — whether those will stand under the new constitutional provision."