PHOENIX (AP) — Voters in Arizona and Montana will decide in November whether to protect abortion rights in their state constitutions.
The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a 200-word summary used by abortion advocates to collect signatures for a referendum measure was valid, clearing the way for the question to remain on the ballot.
Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen on Tuesday Montana’s Certified Constitutional Initiative for the November election.
Under both measures, abortions would be allowed until fetal viability – the point at which a fetus can survive outside the womb, usually around 24 weeks.
In Arizona, there are some exceptions for post-viability abortions to save the mother’s life or protect her physical or mental health. Montana’s measure allows subsequent abortions if necessary to protect the mother’s life or health.
The Montana initiative seeks to enshrine in the Constitution a 1999 state Supreme Court decision that the constitutional right to privacy includes a patient’s right to have an abortion performed by the provider of her choice. Proponents of the initiative have sought to protect that right as Republican lawmakers have passed bills that would restrict abortion rights.
Voters in more than a half-dozen states will be take action on abortion this fall. The Supreme Court of the United States removed the national right to abortion with a 2022 decision, which triggered a national push for voters decide.
“Since Roe was overturned, extremist anti-abortion politicians have used every ploy possible to take away our freedoms and ban abortion altogether,” Martha Fuller, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Montana, said in a statement. “During that time, we have worked together to put this issue before the voters.”
The Arizona Supreme Court’s recent decisions come ahead of a Thursday deadline for printing ballots. Montana’s ballot must be certified by Thursday.
Arizona judges sided with Republican lawmakers in a separate abortion ballot measure case last week to allow a voter information pamphlet to refer to an embryo or fetus as “unborn human being”. This language will not appear on the ballots.
In another case, the justices ruled that a legislative proposal to allow local police to make arrests near the state border with Mexico The vote will be put to voters. The court had rejected a challenge from Latino groups that argued the ballot measure violated a rule in the state constitution that requires legislative proposals to cover a single issue.
In the latest abortion-related case, Arizona Right to Life sued the petition summary, arguing it was misleading.
The Supreme Court justices rejected that argument, as well as the argument that the summary of the petition for the proposed amendment failed to mention that it would overturn existing abortion laws if approved by voters. In its decision, the court said that “reasonable people” may disagree about how best to describe a key provision of a referendum measure, but a court should not get bogged down in such disputes.
“Whatever the decision, we look forward to working with our pro-life partners across the state to continue to educate voters about this ambiguous language,” said Susan Haugland, a spokeswoman for Arizona Right to Life.
The Arizona Abortion Access Association, which launched the initiative, said the decision was a “huge victory” and that advocates would work 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 — well above the number required to put the question to voters.
Democrats have made abortion rights a central message since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 — and it’s a key part of their efforts in this year’s elections.
