BY CARRIE N. BAKER | A coalition of Arizona organizations recently announced the filing of the Arizona Abortion Access Act, which would place a proposed constitutional amendment protecting abortion rights on Arizona’s November 2024 general election ballot.
“Every Arizonan should have the freedom to make decisions about their bodies, their lives and their futures,” said Chris Love, senior advisor for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona. “We know the work for achieving reproductive freedom is an uphill battle, and this ballot initiative is the next critical step in our renewed drive to protect the health and freedom of our patients and our communities.”
The coalition is a new political action committee called Arizona for Abortion Access, led by ACLU of Arizona, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona, NARAL Arizona, Affirm Sexual and Reproductive Health, Arizona List and Healthcare Rising Arizona.
“This initiative will bring together a vast coalition of Arizonans from across the state who will stand up and declare that we should be able to make our own healthcare decisions without interference from politicians,” said Arizona for Abortion Access chair Dr. Candace Lew.
The proposed Arizona amendment was announced the same day Ohio voters resoundingly rejected Issue 1, which would have made it harder to amend the state constitution—including a ballot measure that seeks to ensure the constitutional right to abortion, which will now officially appear on the ballot for Ohio voters in November.
Seven other states could join Arizona in voting on abortion-rights ballot initiatives in 2024. Already, the 2022 election season saw six ballot measures on abortion across the U.S.—and in all of them, the pro-abortion rights position passed decisively. These citizen-led initiatives en masse show that American voters are making the connection between abortion access and principles of democracy, and voting accordingly.
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