The same day Issue 1 fell through in Ohio, seen as a loss-by-proxy for the pro-life movement, abortion advocates in Arizona announced the creation of a political action committee to put abortion as a constitutional right on the state ballot.
“Thousands of Arizonans will power this grassroots effort to not only pose this question to voters, but ensure it passes next November,” Dr. Candace Lew, chair of the new PAC Arizona for Abortion Access, said in a statement.
The coalition includes the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Arizona, NARAL Arizona, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona, Affirm Sexual and Reproductive Health, Arizona List, and Healthcare Rising Arizona.
The Ohio battle over abortion is being closely watched as pro- and anti- abortion groups hope to use similar tactics in other states. Issue 1 was meant to require a 60 percent vote, up from a simple majority of 50 percent plus one, in order to change the state constitution, and Ohio was the only state this year with abortion on the November ballot.
Abortion advocates in six other states, including several groups also supporting the Arizona measure, are working to put abortion as a constitutional right on state ballots.
Pro-life advocates had been watching Ohio’s Issue 1 vote to see if a similar measure could successfully deter abortion ballot measures from passing in their states.
Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, which contributed to the Ohio Issue 1 campaign and the pro-life campaign leading into November, said the ensuing battle was “a serious threat.”
“That is why everyone must take this threat seriously and recognize progressives will win if their opponents are scared into submission by the pro-abortion Left,” it stated, warning that if pro-life supporters continued to “bury their heads in the sand, they will lose again and again.”
Arizona chapter director Maria Birnbaum also issued a statement regarding the new PAC.
“This proposal put forth in Arizona by the ACLU, Planned Parenthood, and other far-left special interest groups aims to create an Arizona unrecognizable to those of us who live here,“ she said, calling the new proposal ”barbaric,” as it allows abortion even after the point where studies show unborn children can feel pain.
Abortion is currently legal up to 15 weeks in Arizona, following a court ruling after Roe v. Wade was overturned. Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs has consistently overturned pro-life measures, including a bill with support for assault victims that conferred personhood to unborn children.
Ballot Measures
Ohio is not the first state to use a ballot measure to “enshrine” abortion access in the state constitution.In 2022, California, Michigan, and Vermont voted to put abortion access in the state constitution. The same year, Kansas was the first to reject such an amendment, followed by Kentucky and Montana.
In Florida, which passed a six-week “heartbeat” abortion ban that is being challenged in the courts, abortion advocates under the PAC Flordiains Protecting Freedom are also pushing for a ballot measure. The PAC has spent more than $4.5 million, according to filings, spent largely on signature collections to push for a constitutional amendment.
Florida already has a 15-week ban in effect, which the abortion group opposes. Abortion advocates are seeking similar language to the Arizona amendment: “No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient’s health, as determined by the patient’s healthcare provider. This amendment does not change the Legislature’s constitutional authority to require notification to a parent or guardian before a minor has an abortion.”
In South Dakota, inducing an abortion is a felony, with exceptions made to save the life of the mother. The proposed amendment that may appear on the 2024 ballot is not nearly as broad as the Florida or Arizona amendments; it would make abortion regulation illegal up to the end of the first trimester, around 13 weeks. After that, the state can regulate it, leaving exceptions for when the mother’s life is in danger or the physician deems it necessary to preserve the “physical or emotional health of the pregnant woman.”
In Maryland, no petition was necessary as the House of Delegates passed a bill that brings puts the issue on the 2024 ballot. Furthermore, there is no existing ban on abortion in Maryland, but supporters of keeping the service legal say that constitutional protection would make it harder for opponents to later add any abortion bans.
Republicans in Missouri are trying a different tactic. This week, lawmakers sued over proposed ballot measures to guarantee abortion on the basis of estimated costs. The lawmakers argue that it would cost the state billions, once the cost of the loss of human lives are accounted for.
The legal challenge came after the state auditor Scott Fitzpatrick, a pro-life Republican, was tasked to prepare cost estimates on the upcoming ballot measures and reported they would come at no cost. He told local media outlets that the report had not been political, but reflective of his duty to submit accurate information.
Democrats have also upped the ante. In New York, which already has some of the nation’s strongest abortion guarantees, the 2024 abortion amendment is bundled with the addition of various gender identities and sexual orientations into the Equal Protection clause. The amendment passed quickly in the Democratic legislature this year, but advocates intend to maximize turnout by postponing the vote to 2024, and have already pledged $20 million in financing.
