Arizonans will have the opportunity to vote on amending the state constitution in the Nov. 5 general election to provide for the fundamental right to abortion before the point in pregnancy where a fetus has a high chance of survival outside of the uterus.
Abortion has been a hot button issue for Arizona since April, when the Arizona Supreme Court upheld an 1864 law prohibiting abortion except in cases to save the mother. This law was never repealed, and the state Supreme Court ruled it was enforceable after the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization.
Ultimately, the Arizona Supreme Court granted a motion on May 13 to stay the enforcement of the 1864 ban until Aug. 12 — after the state legislature voted in favor of repealing this law.
