PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a 200-word summary that abortion advocates used to collect signatures for a ballot measure is valid, clearing the way for voters to decide on the constitutional right to an abortion.
Under the measure, abortions would be allowed until an embryo or fetus could survive outside the womb, typically around 24 weeks. There are some exceptions for later-term abortions to save the mother’s life or to protect her physical or mental health.
Voters in more than a half-dozen states will be deciding abortion measures this fall. The U.S. Supreme Court removed the nationwide right to abortion with a 2022 ruling, which sparked a national push to have voters decide.
Recent decisions from the Arizona Supreme Court come ahead of a Thursday ballot printing deadline.
The justices sided with Republican lawmakers in a related case last week to allow a voter information pamphlet to refer to an embryo or fetus as an “unborn human being.” That language will not appear on the ballots.
In another case, the justices ruled a legislative proposal to let local police make arrests near the state’s border with Mexico will appear on the ballot for voters to decide. The court had rejected a challenge from Latino groups that argued the ballot measure violated a rule in the state constitution that says legislative proposals must cover a single subject.
In the latest abortion measure case, Arizona Right to Life sued over the petition summary, arguing it was misleading.
The high court justices rejected that argument, as well as the claim that the summary for the proposed amendment failed to mention it would overturn existing abortion laws if approved by voters. The court in its ruling states that “reasonable people” can differ over how to describe a key provisions of a ballot measure, but a court should not entangle itself in those disputes.
“Regardless of the ruling, we are looking forward to working with our pro-life partners across the state to continue to inform voters about this ambiguous language,” said Susan Haugland, spokesperson for Arizona Right to Life.
Arizona for Abortion Access, which launched the initiative, said the ruling is a “huge win” and advocates will be working around the clock to encourage voters to support it.
“We are confident that this fall, Arizona voters will make history by establishing a fundamental right to abortion in our state, once and for all,” the group said in a statement.
The Arizona secretary of state’s office recently certified 577,971 signatures — far above the number required to put the question before voters.
Democrats have made abortion rights a central message since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 — and it is a key part of their efforts in this year’s elections.
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