Like Florida, Arizona voters could decide abortion rights in November

Arizona’s fierce debate over abortion mirrors what’s happening in the Sunshine State.

In Florida, a six-week abortion ban is set to take effect May 1. Advocates call it a near total ban, arguing that six weeks isn’t enough time for many women to even find out they are pregnant.

A grassroots effort has collected enough signatures to successfully get the issue on the November ballot in Florida. Yes on 4’s official campaign kicked off in downtown Orlando on April 13 with a rally and march around Lake Eola.

In Arizona, a similar fight is under way.

Last week the state’s Supreme Court ruled that a Civil War-era law is still valid on the books, which bans all abortions except to save a mother’s life. The ban does not take into account incest or rape.

Now a coalition of advocates — including the Arizona chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union and Planned Parenthood Advocates of Arizona — said they have collected more than 500,000 signatures to get a ballot question on the upcoming November election. The deadline to get the 383,923 verified signatures is July 3, according to NBC News.

“This is an issue that people are eager to see on the ballot,” Cheryl Bruce, the Campaign Manager for Arizona for Abortion Access, told NBC News. “As our volunteers are out collecting, people are coming up to them, folks are coming up to them and wanting to sign this petition. … They want to see access to abortion restored in the state of Arizona.”

Conservatives praised the Arizona Supreme Court’s ruling, calling outlawing abortion a victory for human rights.

Meanwhile, Democrats used the ruling as a rallying cry in the upcoming Presidential Election.

If the Arizona ballot question is approved for the ballot this November, joining states like Florida, it elevates abortion rights during a presidential year.

In a statement after the Arizona ruling, President Joe Biden said in a statement, “Vice President (Kamala) Harris and I stand with the vast majority of Americans who support a woman’s right to choose. We will continue to fight to protect reproductive rights and call on Congress to pass a law restoring the protections of Roe v. Wade for women in every state.”

Donald Trump recently argued that states need to make decisions for themselves and reversed his previous stance, saying he would not sign a national abortion ban if he was elected again, according to CNN.