2024 Arizona Proposition 139
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Right to Abortion Initiative | ||
| Elections in Arizona |
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Arizona Proposition 139 is a proposed constitutional amendment that will appear on the ballot on November 5, 2024. If passed, the amendment would establish a right to abortion in the Constitution of Arizona up until fetal viability.[1] A simple majority is needed for this proposition to pass.
Background
[edit]Arizona's abortion laws
[edit]In the 19th century, bans by state legislatures on abortion were about protecting the life of the mother given the number of deaths caused by abortions; state governments saw themselves as looking out for the lives of their citizens.[2] Arizona's first ban on abortion was passed in 1865.[3] It read:
“[E]very person who shall administer or cause to be administered or taken, any medicinal substances, or shall use or cause to be used any instruments whatever, with the intention to procure the miscarriage of any woman then being with child, and shall be thereof duly convicted, shall be punished by imprisonment in the Territorial prison for a term not less than two years nor more than five years: Provided, that no physician shall be affected by the last clause of this section, who in the discharge of his professional duties, deems it necessary to produce the miscarriage of any woman in order to save her life.”[3]
Content
[edit]The official ballot title is as follows:
PROPOSITION 139
PROPOSED BY INITIATIVE PETITION RELATING TO THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT TO AN ABORTION.Official Title
AMENDING ARTICLE II, CONSTITUTION OF ARIZONA, BY ADDING SECTION 8.1; RELATING TO THE FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT TO AN ABORTION.
Descriptive Title
CREATES A FUNDAMENTAL RIGHT TO ABORTION. LIMITS THE STATE’S ABILITY TO INTERFERE WITH THAT RIGHT BEFORE FETAL VIABILITY. AFTER FETAL VIABILITY, ABORTIONS ARE ALLOWED WHEN NECESSARY TO PROTECT THE LIFE OR HEALTH OF THE PREGNANT INDIVIDUAL. PROHIBITS LAWS PENALIZING A PERSON FOR ASSISTING AN INDIVIDUAL OBTAINING AN ABORTION.[1]
If approved, the ballot measure would add the following text to Article 2, Section 8.1 to the Arizona Constitution:[4] 8.1. Fundamental right to abortion; definitions
A. Every individual has a fundamental right to abortion, and the state shall not enact, adopt or enforce any law, regulation, policy or practice that does any of the following:
1. Denies, restricts or interferes with that right before fetal viability unless justified by a compelling state interest that is achieved by the least restrictive means.
2. Denies, restricts or interferes with an abortion after fetal viability that, in the good faith judgment of a treating health care professional, is necessary to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant individual.
3. Penalizes any individual or entity for aiding or assisting a pregnant individual in exercising the individual’s right to abortion as provided in this section.
B. For the purposes of this section:
1. “Compelling state interest” means a law, regulation, policy or practice that meets both of the following:
(a) Is enacted or adopted for the limited purpose of improving or maintaining the health of an individual seeking abortion care, consistent with accepted clinical standards of practice and evidence-based medicine.
(b) Does not infringe on that individual’s autonomous decision making.
2. “Fetal viability” means the point in pregnancy when, in the good faith judgment of a treating health care professional and based on the particular facts of the case, there is a significant likelihood of the fetus’s sustained survival outside the uterus without the application of extraordinary medical measures.
3. “State” means this state, any agency of this state or any political subdivision of this state.
Endorsements
[edit]- U.S. Senators
- Jacky Rosen, U.S. senator from Nevada (2019-present) (Democrat) [5]
- Statewide Officials
- Katie Hobbs, 24th Governor of Arizona (2023-present) (Democrat) [6]
Polling
[edit]| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[a] |
Margin of error |
For | Against | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fox News | August 23–26, 2024 | 1,014 (RV) | ± 3.0% | 73% | 23% | 4% |
| KFF | May 23 - June 5, 2024 | 3,192 (Female RV) | ± 5% | 67% | 32% | 0% |
| CBS News/YouGov | May 10–16, 2024 | 1510 (LV) | ± 3.3% | 65% | 21% | 14% |
| Noble Predictive Insights | May 7-14, 2024 | 1,003 (RV) | ± 3.09% | 41% | 41% | 18% |
See also
[edit]- Abortion in Arizona
- 2022 Kansas abortion referendum
- 2022 California Proposition 1
- 2022 Michigan Proposal 3
- 2022 Vermont Proposal 5
- November 2023 Ohio Issue 1
- 2024 Colorado Initiative Measure 89
- 2024 Florida Amendment 4
- 2024 Maryland Question 1
- 2024 Missouri Amendment 3
- 2024 New York Equal Protection of Law amendment referendum
- 2024 South Dakota Amendment G
Notes
[edit]- ^ Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear
References
[edit]- ^ Rodriguez, Valeria (2024-08-27). "Prop 139 on Arizona November Ballot". KYMA. Retrieved 2024-08-29.
- ^ Buell, Samuel (1991-01-01). "Criminal Abortion Revisited". New York University Law Review. 66 (6): 1774–1831. PMID 11652642.
- ^ a b Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Org., No. 19-1392, slip op. at 112 (U.S. June 24, 2022).
- ^ "Application for Serial Number Initiative Petition A.R.S. § 19-111" (PDF). Initiative, Referendum and Recall Applications. Arizona Secretary of state. September 12, 2023.
- ^ Messerly, Megan (May 12, 2024). "National Dem strategy worries state abortion-rights leaders". Politico. Retrieved August 15, 2024.
- ^ Gomez, Gloria (November 28, 2023). "Hobbs endorses Arizona Abortion Access Act". AZ mirror. Retrieved August 15, 2024.