This page was last updated on November 13, 2024.
VICTORY: Abortion will be enshrined in the Arizona Constitution.
Arizona voters passed Proposition 139, the Arizona for Abortion Access Act, which will establish a fundamental right to abortion in the state constitution and provide a path to challenge Arizona’s dangerous 15-week abortion ban. Once Arizona’s election is certified, the amendment protects people’s right to decide for themselves whether to end a pregnancy. After certification, Arizona abortion providers will be able to challenge existing restrictions that violate the amendment.
The Arizona for Abortion Access Act was a people-powered effort, and this victory belongs to all of us. Thousands of volunteers and organizers mobilized across all of Arizona’s fifteen counties to:
- Collect 823,685 voter signatures to put the initiative on the 2024 ballot — the most of any citizen initiative in state history
- Knock on 1.7 million doors to activate and engage voters
- Make 40,000 phone calls to voters to urge them to vote Yes on Prop 139
- Write hundreds of postcards inviting voters to vote Yes on Prop 139
- Share the stories of more than 40 abortion storytellers to explain why this initiative is so important
The ACLU of Arizona proudly endorsed the Arizona for Abortion Access Act and worked alongside local and national partners to support this effort – but our work is not done. We remain committed to defending and expanding access to abortion care, and will take action to ensure the state’s laws are consistent with the new constitutional amendment.
What does the Arizona For Abortion Access Amendment do?
Once the Arizona for Abortion Access Act goes into effect, the state cannot limit access to abortion before fetal viability, and protects access to abortion after fetal viability if a treating healthcare provider determines an abortion is needed to protect the life or physical or mental health of the patient. The Act also prevents the state from penalizing anyone, such as a relative or a doctor, who assists another person in exercising their right to abortion.
