Abortion Opponents Urge Arizona Supreme Court to Block Abortion Rights Ballot Measure

An anti-abortion group is advancing a lawsuit to prevent an abortion rights initiative from making it to Arizona’s ballot this year. This move comes after a trial court deemed their challenge baseless.

Arizona Right to Life attempted to persuade Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Melissa Iyer Julian to invalidate all the signature petitions for the Arizona Abortion Access Act. However, the initiative, having submitted more than double the required number of voter signatures, is likely still on track for a November ballot appearance.

The group contended that the campaign behind the initiative misrepresented the proposal to those who signed, using an unclear 200-word summary that omitted its impact on current state laws. Judge Julian disagreed, citing previous rulings that state petition summaries need only highlight an initiative’s “principal provisions” and not its fit within existing laws.

“Concern about the impact this initiative may have on existing abortion regulations is not a ground to compel the initiative’s removal from the ballot,” Julian wrote, referencing a 1987 Arizona Supreme Court decision. She emphasized that debates about an initiative’s potential impact should happen in “the political arena.”

Despite the setback, Jill Norgaard, spokeswoman for Arizona Right to Life, announced that the group is appealing to the state Supreme Court. “We will be presenting the facts that the abortion access act’s crafted verbiage actually allows abortion up to birth,” she stated.

The group argues that the initiative’s description fails to clarify that it permits abortions beyond fetal viability, framing it as allowing abortions up to delivery. However, data shows that most procedures occur within the first trimester, with late-term abortions being rare and typically due to medical emergencies or severe fetal anomalies.

The Arizona Abortion Access Act aims to establish abortion as a constitutional right in the state. It seeks to prevent laws or policies that restrict access to abortion both up to fetal viability, around 24 weeks, and beyond, if deemed necessary for a woman’s health. If passed, it would override Arizona’s current 15-week gestational limit.

Dawn Penich, spokeswoman for the abortion rights initiative, criticized the continued legal resistance by Arizona Right to Life as baseless and misleading. “This appeal shows yet again that they are willing to do and say anything—no matter how desperate or dishonest—to deprive Arizonans of their right to direct democracy,” she remarked.

The campaign’s petition summary case is among multiple legal challenges pending before the Arizona Supreme Court. In another case, eight GOP legislators have asked the court to rule on whether the term “unborn human being” in the initiative’s description, which will be sent to voters, is biased.

These Republican lawmakers also previously lost in a lower court and are appealing to block the abortion rights measure. The impartiality of the court has been questioned as anti-abortion Justice Bill Montgomery refused to recuse himself from the case, despite accusations of bias from past statements.

Justice Montgomery, who has previously made strong accusations against Planned Parenthood, rejected the request for his removal, arguing that Planned Parenthood isn’t a litigant in the lawsuit. While not directly involved, Planned Parenthood is a significant donor and supporter of the initiative.