Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs verified statewide election results last week and with this verification, state officials approved Proposition 139: The “Right to Abortion Initiative.” 61.6% of Arizonans voted in favor and the measure only needed greater than 50% of the vote to pass.
This measure amended the Arizona Constitution to establish that every individual has the fundamental right to abortion. The state of Arizona may not interfere if an abortion takes place before the point of fetal viability.
Fetal viability is defined as the point in pregnancy when the fetus has a significant chance of surviving outside the uterus without extraordinary medical measures. The timeline for fetal viability is considered between weeks 20 through 25, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
The amendment also allows abortions beyond fetal viability if it is to safeguard the life, physical or mental health of the pregnant individual in the judgement of a healthcare professional. The measure also prevents penalties for those assisting individuals seeking abortions.
Arizona is one of seven states in the United States that passed ballot measures enshrining abortion access within their state constitutions in November along with Nevada, Colorado, Montana, Missouri, Maryland and New York.
Approving Proposition 139 seems to align with current national voter trends regarding reproductive rights. According to the Pew Research Center, 63% of U.S. adults said abortion should be legal in all or most cases.
Christina Petrin, president of the University of Arizona Planned Parenthood Generation Action, said, “It was honestly a breath of fresh air […]. Prop 139 is a big win for Arizona, even though it may feel like a small victory, it is a victory, and we should [account for] what we’re doing and what we’re fighting for. We’re going to continue to fight for reproductive rights. We’re going to fight for better things on campus […] in any way that we can.”
Petrin was pushed into advocacy out of a desire to improve women’s healthcare across the state.
“I think women’s healthcare could do better. Hearing about [Planned Parenthood Generation Action], seeing that they were […] trying to secure better reproductive health and education, both [for] to college students and everyone in Arizona,” Petrin said.
“There were just so many feelings and sentiments surrounding the passing of it, because it was just such a hard-fought battle,” Amara Williams, vice president of the UA PPGEN, said. “I know that people can be easily discouraged for being vocal and active about these things. I’m grateful for the opportunity to be here to fight alongside my peers, minded people, people that just want to fight for what’s right.”
PPGenAction has worked closely with community organizations, such as the university’s Women and Gender Resource Center to maintain the Feminist Pharmacy.
The pharmacy is an area of the WGRC where community members can access menstrual products, contraceptives and pregnancy tests at no cost.
The group also promotes education on breast exams, sexually transmitted diseases and safe-sex education.
It’s “education not only on women’s bodies, but just bodies in general,” Petrin said.
However, not all are happy with the proposition being approved.
Located 200 feet from the Regional Health Center of Planned Parenthood in Tucson, the non-profit organization known as Hands of Hope provides pregnant individuals pregnancy testing, ultrasounds and “abortion pill reversal”. Abortion pill reversal is a procedure that aims to counteract the effects of the abortion and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists deems this reversal practice as “not supported by science.”
Lucy Smith, the director of ProLove Tucson Sidewalk Outreach, and Natalia Escamilla, a volunteer with the group, frequent the sidewalk outside Hands of Hope.
Smith reacted with worry to the passing of the proposition.
“We’re very concerned,” Smith said. “We’re concerned about those babies, but also women, because as you go further into your pregnancy, abortion is more traumatic, more dangerous to her. We’re concerned about innocent human lives.”
Escarmilla has been volunteering with the group for a year now, and she said the group’s efforts will continue despite the proposition’s success in November.
“We’re continuing,” Escarmilla said. “The fight hasn’t stopped. My desire to do this hasn’t stopped. So if anything, I’m more empowered to keep coming. […] I am pro-woman and I am pro-baby and I am pro-family.”
Smith said that she is here to provide a personal network for those debating their options.
“You know it really is a choice,” Smith said. “We’re offering different options, different choices, and we want her to think through that. We also have walked alongside a lot of women that have chosen abortion and come back and say they regret it.”
The legal challenge now presents aligning the state laws with Proposition 139 as the pre-existing 15 week abortion ban remains a subject of legal contention.
As of Dec. 3, the American Civil Liberties Union will represent OB-GYNs Dr. Eric Reuss and Dr. Paul Isaacson, along with Planned Parenthood Arizona, in suing the state, arguing that the current state abortion ban is unconstitutional with the approval of Proposition 139.
The state has agreed not to enforce the ban pending the litigation outcome, allowing health care providers to resume abortion services beyond 15 weeks of pregnancy.
