A message from Governor Katie Hobbs. pic.twitter.com/td2WbLBcIa
— Governor Katie Hobbs (@GovernorHobbs) April 9, 2024
Photo and video via office of Governor Katie Hobbs
By Lauren Irwin | The Hill
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) said Tuesday that she’s confident voters will have the opportunity to enshrine abortion rights in November and reverse a decision from the state’s Supreme Court that makes virtually all abortions in the state illegal.
Hobbs joined CNN’s Anderson Cooper hours after the state’s highest court rejected arguments for a 15-week abortion ban and upheld a law from 1864, before Arizona was even a state.
“Arizonans are going to weigh in on this and enshrine abortion in our state’s constitution in November, and I am confident that, when given the opportunity, they will vote to protect abortion,” she said.
Hobbs said efforts to enshrine abortion access in the state have already surpassed the number of signatures to have ballot access in this year’s election and still have more months to gain support.
“This is a commonsense measure that is supported by the vast majority of Arizonans in terms of protecting access,” she said. “And you know, certainly it’s going to motivate voters in November.”
The Arizona Right to Abortion Initiative may appear on the state’s ballot this fall as a constitutional amendment. It would establish the fundamental right to abortion and says the state cannot interfere before the point of fetal viability, the point at which a fetus could survive outside the uterus.
The 4-2 decision Tuesday makes abortion almost entirely illegal in the state. It will make performing or helping a pregnant person obtain an abortion a felony punishable by two to five years in prison. The law will effectively close abortion clinics in the state, but Hobbs said it’s still unclear when that would be.
