Abortion referendum pamphlet can call fetus 'unborn human being,' Arizona's top court rules
The Arizona Supreme Court has ruled that an informational pamphlet on an upcoming abortion law referendum can refer to a fetus as an "unborn human being."
Vice Chief Justice John Lopez IV authored a brief ruling last Wednesday overturning a lower court decision that did not allow the phrase to be used in the official analysis pamphlet sent to voters that Republican state lawmakers on the Legislative Council drafted.
In November, Arizonans will vote on a ballot measure that would allow legal abortions up until fetal viability, which usually occurs around 24 weeks into a pregnancy.
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"We conclude that the Analysis provides the information required by [Arizona Revised Statutes] § 19–124(C) and 'substantially complies' with the statute's impartiality requirement," the high court ruled.
"We hold that Appellants have shown that the superior court erred in determining that the Council's Analysis of the Initiative violates A.R.S. § 19–124(C) 's impartiality requirement."
The state supreme court issued an order "granting relief on the petition for special action and reversing the superior court's ruling that the Council's use of the phrase 'unborn human being' violates A.R.S. § 19–124(C) 's impartiality requirement."
Lopez wrote that an opinion from the state's highest court "more fully explaining this decision order will issue in due course."
Chief Justice Ann A. Scott Timmer and Justice James P. Beene dissented from the brief opinion, while Justice Clint Bolick recused himself from the case. Retired Justice John Pelander was designated to take part in the legal proceedings.
Arizona for Abortion Access, the group behind the ballot initiative, expressed disappointment in the ruling. The court shot down the group's argument that the use of the phrase "unborn human being" violates the state's impartiality requirement, noting that it's the "specific phrase used in existing law."
"We are deeply disappointed in this ruling, but will not be deterred from doing everything in our power to communicate to voters the truth of the Arizona Abortion Access Act and why it's critical to vote YES to restore and protect access to abortion care this fall," the group said in a statement as quoted by The Associated Press.
In May, Democrat Gov. Katie Hobbs signed a bill that repealed Arizona's Civil War-era abortion ban, which prohibited the procedure except for times when a mother's life was in danger.
"Today, we did what 23 governors and 55 legislatures refused to do and repealed the 1864 Civil War-era total abortion ban," Hobbs stated.
"I will do everything in my power to protect our reproductive freedoms because I trust women to make the decisions that are best for them, and know politicians do not belong in the doctor's office."
Arizona law prohibits most abortions after 15 weeks into a pregnancy, based on a law signed by then-Republican Gov. Doug Ducey in 2022, shortly before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
