Arizona Supreme Court rejects attempt to block abortion initiative from November ballot
By Veronica Stracqualursi, CNN
(CNN) — The Arizona Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an attempt to block a proposed constitutional amendment that would enshrine the right to an abortion from appearing on the November ballot.
Arizona Right to Life, a group opposed to abortion rights, filed a challenge to the ballot initiative, taking issue with the 200-word petition description used to collect signatures and arguing that the public was misled about how broad the amendment would be.
In its opinion issued Tuesday, the court found that the description of the amendment “is not required to explain the Initiative’s impact on existing abortion laws or regulations.”
“Moreover, a reasonable person would necessarily understand that existing laws that fail the prescribed tests would be invalid rather than continue in effect,” the opinion reads.
The Arizona Abortion Access Act received 577,971 certified signatures and will appear on the ballot as Proposition 139, the Arizona secretary of state’s office announced last week. The initiative had to reach 383,923 signatures to get on the ballot.
The amendment would enshrine the right to an abortion in the state constitution up to fetal viability, which doctors believe is around 22 to 24 weeks of pregnancy.
The Arizona high court on Tuesday ordered that Arizona’s secretary of state include the proposed amendment in the 2024 election publicity pamphlet and on the November ballot.
Earlier this year, the Arizona Legislature voted to repeal the state’s 160-year-old near-total abortion ban, after the state Supreme Court had revived the law and thrust reproductive rights into the political spotlight. Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs promptly signed the repeal legislation into law.
Arizona currently imposes a 15-week limit for abortions. Enacted in 2022, that restriction does not include exceptions for rape and incest.
CNN’s Rashard Rose contributed to this report.
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