A majority of Arizonans support the right for people to make their own decisions about healthcare, including abortion, without government interference. The measure introduced by Arizona for Abortion Access amends the Arizona constitution to ensure people can make their own decisions on abortion.
In order to ensure voters get to decide the future of access to abortion care in our state, we need to collect a historic number of signatures to get this measure on the ballot. That means we all need to be sharing accurate, helpful information about the Arizona for Abortion Access Act to motivate our friends, family, and community to get involved.
Take a look at the guide to learn the facts and how to talk about this historic effort to get abortion on the 2024 ballot in Arizona!
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT
The Arizona for Abortion Access Act
- The Arizona for Abortion Access ballot measure amends the Arizona constitution to include the right for a person to make their own decision on abortion.
- This measure would ensure Arizonans are able to make decisions about abortion with their healthcare provider. It also states that the government cannot limit abortion prior to the point at which a fetus could survive outside the womb unless a healthcare provider determines the abortion is needed to preserve a pregnant person’s life or health.
- Nine in ten Arizonans agree that each of us should have the freedom to decide how and when we start or grow a family, free from political interference. No matter how Arizonans personally feel about abortion, they know every person should be able to make their own decisions with their doctors and those they love and trust.
- Abortion is safe and common. One in four people who are able to get pregnant will have an abortion at some point.
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT
The Arizona for Abortion Access campaign
- The Arizona for Abortion Access campaign is being led by trusted reproductive rights advocacy organizations: ACLU of Arizona, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona, NARAL Pro-Choice Arizona, Affirm Sexual and Reproductive Health, Arizona List, and Healthcare Rising Arizona.
- Previous ballot initiatives have been challenged in court by well-funded and powerful opponents, even with major support from Arizona voters. While 383,923 valid signatures are required to get this measure on the 2024 ballot, the campaign aims to collect over 600,000 signatures to ensure voter support is indisputable.
- The deadline to submit signatures is July 3rd, 2024.
HOW TO
Start the Conversation
Bringing up topics with a long history of stigma isn’t easy, but there’s too much at stake in Arizona to keep avoiding the conversation. We are at a juncture where voters have the opportunity to make a significant, positive difference for people who can become pregnant.
Not sure how your friends and family will react when you say the word “abortion?” Start with your shared values. Here are a few values-based phrases you can make your own to ease into the conversation.
- “Have you heard about the Arizona Abortion Access Act? This ballot measure is about trusting people and restoring our communities’ freedom to access abortion without barriers.”
- “I think the government should stay out of our private healthcare decisions. Don’t you? Hopefully, with signatures for the Abortion Access Act in Arizona underway, we’ll clear one of the biggest hurdles for women/people who can become pregnant.”
- “It shouldn’t matter what other people’s beliefs are about abortion, even if they personally wouldn’t make that choice for themselves. I think a lot of folks here in Arizona feel that way, and I hope it’ll drive them to action and support the Abortion Access Act. Have you looked into the ballot initiative yet?”
- “There are many reasons someone might decide to have an abortion. These decisions are personal, and everyone deserves the freedom to make those decisions with support from their loved ones and people they trust.”
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT
Arizona laws that impact access to abortion care
Anti-abortion lawmakers have been passing restrictions to chip away at our access to care for decades. Our state has close to 40 laws that impact people’s ability to get care and providers to offer it. This has resulted in only seven facilities that provide care in Tucson and the Phoenix metro area. Here’s how we got here:
- The state legislature passed a 15-week ban in 2022, one of Arizona’s most restrictive abortion laws in modern history. With the Dobbs decision overturning our federal right to access abortion months later, this harmful law still stands.
- Patients must undergo an unnecessary ultrasound, followed by a 24-hour waiting period, before receiving abortion care.
- Abortion pills are banned from being prescribed remotely via telemedicine.
- People under the age of 18 are required to get parental permission or approval from a judge to receive abortion care.
- Registered nurses, registered nurse midwives, and physician assistants are banned from offering abortion care.
- State Medicaid, plans through the state health insurance exchange, and policies for public employees do not cover abortion.
- Any medical facility or health care worker may refuse to provide abortion or contraception to patients.
- Arizona bans a certain type of safe procedure and prohibits abortion later in pregnancy. This creates life-threatening barriers and often forces people to travel out of state for care.
Want to learn more about recent events that have impacted abortion access in Arizona?
HOW TO
Join the Fight for Abortion Rights
- Learn how to collect signatures for the Arizona for Abortion Access Act. Click here to learn about upcoming and on-demand training. After that, one of our organizers will reach out to help you get oriented with petition collections!
Sign Up Now - Share why you care about this issue – whether you have had an abortion, love someone who's had an abortion, or understand the importance of this issue even without a personal connection, speaking up is what matters. Not sure what to say? Use this blog post as a guide to prepare how you want to approach the conversation.
Through litigation, advocacy, and people power, we must continue fighting for abortion in the courts, in statehouses, and at ballot boxes across the country. The courts have shown us that they won’t save us from cruel political attacks on our bodily autonomy. But we have a message for them: Politicians don’t get the final say, we do. Together, we can and will take back our right to abortion and ensure every person can get the care they need, no matter where they live, how much money they have, or who they are.
