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Arizona coalition launches effort to get abortion rights on 2024 ballot

Thousands of protesters march around the Arizona Capitol in protest after the Supreme Court decision to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion decision Friday, June 24, 2022, in Phoenix. The U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade has legal advocates, prosecutors and residents of red states facing a legal morass created by decades of often conflicting anti-abortion legislation. In Arizona, Republicans are fighting among themselves over whether a 121-year-old anti-abortion law that precedes statehood should be enforced over a 2022 version.
Ross D. Franklin
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AP Photo
Thousands of protesters march around the Arizona Capitol in protest after the Supreme Court decision to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion decision Friday, June 24, 2022, in Phoenix.

Major abortion rights groups have launched an effort to enshrine abortion protections into the Arizona Constitution.

The new political action committee supporting the ballot measure – known as Arizona for Abortion Access – is set to file proposed language for a constitutional amendment with the Arizona secretary of state’s office Tuesday.

It marks the first step in a lengthy process to put an abortion rights question on the 2024 ballot.

Arizona currently bans most abortions after 15 weeks of pregnancy.

The proposed ballot language would guarantee the right to an abortion up until fetal viability, which is typically around 22 to 24 weeks of pregnancy. It would also require abortions to be allowed after that deadline when medically necessary to protect the life of the patient or their physical or mental health.

The coalition includes the ACLU of Arizona, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona, NARAL Arizona, Affirm Sexual and Reproductive Health, Arizona List, and Healthcare Rising Arizona.

The group has until July 3 to collect more than 380,000 valid signatures from registered voters to get on the ballot.