What's Happening in Arizona now:
On June 24th, 2022 the U. S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. This means abortion is no longer protected at the federal level. States are allowed to enact extreme laws, or let old ones go into effect.
Extremist politicians enacted a 15-week abortion ban in Arizona. This is in addition to over 40 other laws that restrict and burden abortion in the state. Doctors can currently provide abortion care up to 15 weeks of pregnancy, forcing anyone past that point to travel out of state.
There is also a Civil War-era total ban in effect. While a court determined it does not affect doctors, it could be used to target others. The language of the law, A.R.S. § 13-3603, reads:
A person who provides, supplies or administers to a pregnant woman, or procures such woman to take any medicine, drugs or substance, or uses or employs any instrument or other means whatever, with intent thereby to procure the miscarriage of such woman, unless it is necessary to save her life, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for not less than two years nor more than five years.
To learn more about the laws affecting abortion access in Arizona, visit the ACLU of Arizona.
Impacts of Banning Abortion:
When someone is not able to access an abortion they need, individuals, families, and children suffer.
Research shows that someone denied a wanted abortion is:
More likely to experience subsequent poverty and live below the Federal Poverty Line
More likely have poorer physical health outcomes
More likely to stay tethered to abusive partners
Abortion bans disproportionately impact communities of color, immigrants, those with low incomes, and people living in rural communities—or those who already face significant systemic barriers in accessing health care, especially reproductive health care.
