Arizona Governor Signs Law to Protect Unborn Children With Genetic Abnormalities

Arizona Governor Signs Law to Protect Unborn Children With Genetic Abnormalities
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey speaks at a MAGA campaign rally in Prescott, Ariz., on Oct. 19, 2020. Caitlin O'Hara/Getty Images
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Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed a measure into law on April 27 that seeks to protect unborn children from abortions performed strictly on the basis of genetic disorders, such as Down syndrome.

The law, which was approved by the state legislature last week, makes it a crime for medical providers to terminate a pregnancy knowing that the procedure was sought solely because of a genetic abnormality of a child, except in a medical emergency. The measure also prohibits public colleges and universities from performing an abortion, forbids mail delivery of abortion-inducing medication, and allows the father or maternal grandparents of an unborn child who was aborted due to a genetic disorder to sue on behalf of an unborn child.