A dozen states could vote on the issue come November.
Rosie Villegas-Smith was spending a Saturday handing out flyers with volunteers from Voces Unidas, a pro-life nonprofit, when she noticed a group gathering signatures.
The woman who approached her never mentioned the word abortion, only referring to women’s rights, but she quickly realized what they were campaigning for: a ballot measure on expanding abortion access in Arizona in the November elections.
The southwestern state is one of up to a dozen across the country who will vote on abortion later this year, part of the continued reshaping of the legal landscape following the reversal of Roe v. Wade.
Arizona’s measure would enshrine the right to an abortion in the state’s constitution, overriding its current 15-week ban and allowing the procedure at any point in a pregnancy if a health care provider determines it is necessary to protect either the life or the physical and mental health of the mother.
The state has been in a back-and-forth over abortion policies for weeks, with pro-life groups ramping up efforts to reach out to women who may be considering abortions and to voters who may consider supporting expanding abortion access.
Last month, Arizona’s top court ruled that an 1864 law prohibiting abortion could go into effect as a result of the reversal of Roe v. Wade. The controversial ruling came under fire nationally; even former president Donald Trump and other high-profile Republicans suggested it went too far. Vice President Kamala Harris slammed the law as putting women in a “state of chaos and cruelty caused by Donald Trump.”
A legislative repeal narrowly passed the state Senate 16–14 after two Republicans crossed the aisle to side with Democrats. …
