Arizona voters protected abortion rights, Washington can still threaten women’s health

Julie Kwatra, MD, and Athena Salman

(Submitted by Jodi Liggett)

OPINION — In 2024, nearly two million Arizonans voted for Proposition 139, amending our state Constitution to protect the fundamental right to abortion. It passed with nearly 62 percent of the vote.

That should have settled the debate about reproductive freedom in Arizona, but protecting that right here at home does not shield us from federal actions that could restrict access to reproductive health care.

That makes this year’s congressional elections enormously consequential — particularly in Arizona’s open 1st Congressional District, one of the most competitive House seats in the country.

Jay Feely enthusiastically invited Donald Trump’s endorsement and aligned himself with the president’s anti-abortion agenda. Feely advocated for defunding Planned Parenthood and opposed efforts to codify federal abortion protections.

Dr. Amish Shah is a practicing emergency physician and former state legislator who knows firsthand how important reproductive freedom is. He worked to repeal Arizona’s abortion ban, supported access to medication abortion, co-sponsored legislation protecting contraception, and gathered hundreds of signatures to put Proposition 139 before Arizona voters.

However, state constitutional protections have limits. Federal agencies regulate medications. Federal policy affects family-planning programs. Congress controls federal spending and writes laws that can reach into every state.

That is why control of Congress matters.

Will Congress protect access to contraception? Will it safeguard access to medication abortion? Will it prevent federal funding from being used to impose ideology on health care providers? And when the Trump administration attempts to exceed its authority, will Congress exercise meaningful oversight? Who the voters of this district elect could determine who controls the House of Representatives — and whether Congress acts as a check on an administration hostile to reproductive freedom.

Arizona voters protected reproductive freedom in 2024. In 2026, to ensure Washington doesn’t take it away, we need to send Amish Shah to Congress.

Athena Salman, of Tempe, is the director of Arizona Campaigns for Reproductive Freedom for All. She served as a member of the Arizona House of Representatives from 2017 to 2024. Julie Kwatra, MD, is a board-certified obstetrician and gynecologist practicing in Scottsdale,  and a fellow of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Please submit comments at yourvalley.net/letters or email them to AzOpinions@iniusa.org. We are committed to publishing a wide variety of reader opinions, as long as they meet our Civility Guidelines.