Women Put at Risk By 'Extreme' Proposed Abortion Amendment, Opponents Say
The “It Goes Too Far” campaign seeks to warn Arizonans that a proposed abortion amendment to the state’s constitution is extreme and would put women at risk due to lowering medical provider standards.
The “It Goes Too Far” coalition, which is supported by the Center for Arizona Policy Action, launched its campaign Wednesday to inform voters that the ballot initiative put forth by Arizona for Abortion Access does not match the views of a majority of residents concerning abortion.
Groups behind the ballot initiative include ACLU of Arizona, Arizona List and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona.
The proposed amendment would make abortions illegal only after the unborn child is viable outside the womb. However, it also allows later-term abortions in the last trimester “to protect the life or physical or mental health of the [woman].”
Viability is usually considered around 23 or 24 weeks into the pregnancy, about 6 months.
Arizona currently has a 15-week limit on abortions, with exceptions later in the pregnancy to save the life of the mother or prevent irreversible injury to her health.
A GOP-controlled state legislation passed that limit and then-Republican Gov. Doug Ducey signed the bill into law in March 2022.
However, in June 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, returning the issue entirely to the states.
Arizona also still has an 1864 territorial law on the books that bans abortions outright, except to save the life of the mother, ABC News reported.
In December 2022, the Arizona Court of Appeals harmonized the two laws, finding the 15-week limit would remain in effect.
Last month, the Arizona Supreme Court heard oral arguments in the case to definitively decide what the law in Arizona will be.
When the Supreme Court’s decision will be issued is not known, but it presumably will be well before the election.
Olivia Escobedo, political director for It Goes Too Far, characterized the proposed abortion amendment as “extreme.”
“This proposed abortion amendment goes too far. There are no limits or common-sense safety standards, no required medical doctors, and moms and dads wouldn’t know if their minor daughter is having an abortion. This is too extreme for Arizona,” she told The Western Journal.
“What the other side is trying to do is to expand abortion beyond what most voters support. What we’ve seen that most voters support is 79 percent of voters support limits on abortion, with 69 percent of those being the limit in the first term.
“But this amendment is going to be legalizing late-term abortion. It will be enshrining late-term abortion into our state constitution. And when it is put on the ballot, it is extremely hard to overturn. This is not like passing a regular bill,” she added.
Thank you Pebble Creek Republican Club for letting me speak on behalf of the @ItGoesTooFar campaign tonight.
AZ’s proposed abortion amendment has dangerous implications & we are working hard to defeat it!
Learn more here: https://t.co/sL1mterEK7#DeclineToSign #ItGoesTooFar pic.twitter.com/5Mm1n6f2CK
— Olivia Escobedo🇺🇸 (@oliviaintheusa) January 5, 2024
In fact, if it were to pass, an entire to new ballot initiative would be needed to remove it.
The Arizona Republic reported Arizona for Abortion Access must collect 383,923 signatures from state voters by July 3.
“Campaigns seeking to amend the constitution must gather signatures amounting to 15% of votes cast in the state’s most recent gubernatorial election,” according to the Arizona Mirror.
The news outlet added that the Arizona for Abortion Access campaign aims to collect more than 500,000 signatures to ensure a buffer against those names that will be rejected during the voter verification process.
Besides enshrining later-term abortions, the amendment would remove the requirement to have a medical doctor overseeing the abortion, inserting the language “health care professional,” Escobedo noted.
“Under Arizona law that includes dietitians, chiropractors, massage therapists. … It sounds crazy, but that’s how the amendment is written,” she said.
It Goes Too Far campaign manager Leisa Brug said in a news release, “Arizona abortion laws should protect girls and women, not put them at greater risk, but this amendment asks voters to expand abortion while cutting safety precautions. That makes no sense.”
“The language forbids any laws that could be interpreted as ‘interfering’ in abortion. That means safety precautions designed to avoid complications or save a girl’s life in case of complications, and other reasonable measures would be forbidden and unenforceable,” Brug further explained.
We are fighting for the health and safety girls & women in Arizona! Join the effort to stop the proposed abortion amendment that Goes Too Far! pic.twitter.com/9e3S4dlpSg
— ItGoesTooFar (@ItGoesTooFar) January 10, 2024
Chris Love, a senior adviser to Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona, told The Arizona Republic that It Goes Too Far has launched “a campaign that is already lying to voters in order to deny Arizonans their reproductive freedom.”
The amendment ensures “people have the freedom to decide what is best for their own bodies and lives. The amendment would protect abortion access in our state and keep it regulated the same way as any other medical care,” Love added.
Escobedo also distinguished Arizona from Ohio, where an abortion amendment passed in November.
Ohio had a so-called “heartbeat bill” on the books, which was at least temporarily being blocked by the court system. It made abortion illegal after six weeks, and included no exceptions for rape or incest.
“Arizona is not Ohio,” Escobedo said, pointing to the 15-week abortion limit.
She said of the It Goes Too Far campaign, “We’re reasonable. We want common-sense limits on abortion because that’s what most voters support.”
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