The Arizona Supreme Court has allowed the use of the term “unborn human being” in the state’s explanation of the sweeping abortion amendment that will be on the ballot this November.
Here’s a summary of developments related to the pro-life movement in the United States this week.
Arizona approves term “unborn human” in explanation of abortion amendment
The Arizona Supreme Court has allowed the use of the term “unborn human being” in the state’s explanation of the sweeping abortion amendment that will be on the ballot this November.
The ruling overturns a July decision by the Maricopa County Superior Court that struck the term “unborn human being” from a state statement on the proposed abortion amendment. The high court argued in its decision that the term was misleading and “inherently political.”
However, the Arizona Supreme Court said in its decision Wednesday that the court in Maricopa erred and that the “unborn human being” phrase used in the state’s current law “substantially meets” the requirement of impartiality.
The term will now be included in a booklet explaining all the proposed changes on the ballot paper. The booklet will be sent to voters before the election.
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes has collected enough signatures to put the abortion rights amendment on the ballot, so voters will decide in November whether comprehensive abortion rights will be enshrined in the state constitution.
If passed, the amendment would override the state’s law protecting unborn life beginning at 15 weeks of pregnancy, as well as most of the state’s pro-life laws.
Majority of American women support legal abortion
Three out of four American women of childbearing age believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases, according to a new study released Wednesday by the research group Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). The KFF defines childbearing age as 18 to 49 years.
About four-in-ten women (45%) accurately described the legal status of abortion in their state, and nearly a third (32%) said they did not know whether abortion was legal in their state. Similarly, 67% of women said they did not know whether chemical abortion was legal in their state.
The study also shows how fear of abortion is widespread: six in ten (63%) women said they were worried that they or a loved one would not be able to have an abortion if it was necessary to protect their life or health. According to data from Americans United for Life, every state with abortion restrictions currently allows exceptions for abortion in cases where the mother’s life is in danger.
At the same time, only 26 percent of U.S. women of childbearing age believe that abortion should be illegal in all or most cases.
According to KFF, 70% of women of childbearing age support a federal law that guarantees the right to abortion, while 63% of women oppose a law that protects unborn life from the 15th week of pregnancy.
Finally, the study found that 74% of women of childbearing age oppose policies that leave abortion to the states.
Abortion amendment officially on the ballot in Missouri
Missouri Secretary of State John Ashcroft has certified enough signatures to officially add the “Right to Reproductive Freedom” amendment to the state ballot in November.
This means that voters in Missouri will decide whether to enshrine a “fundamental right” to abortion at any stage of pregnancy.
If the amendment passes, it would override the state’s current law protecting life at conception, as well as most other current right-to-life measures.
It would allow certain post-viability abortion policies, but only if they “do not prevent, impede, delay, or otherwise limit an abortion that, in the good faith belief of a treating health care professional, is necessary to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant person.”
Wisconsin Capitol Police decline to investigate abortion leaks
Citing a conflict of interest, the Wisconsin Capitol Police refused to investigate the recently leaked draft of a state Supreme Court order on the issue of abortion.
According to Wisconsin Watch, the Capitol Police are part of the administration of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who is an outspoken pro-abortion advocate. Wisconsin Watch reported that Evers’ spokeswoman Britt Cudaback said there was a “clear conflict of interest” given the governor’s “significant concern about the outcome of the court decisions.”
The leaked ruling concerns a lawsuit filed by Planned Parenthood and several other abortion advocates that seeks to invalidate the state’s law protecting life at conception. The law is currently not enforced after Dane County District Judge Diane Schlipper ruled in favor of the abortion industry last year.
The leak, first reported by Wisconsin Watch on June 26, prematurely revealed the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s plans to appeal the case. The Wisconsin Supreme Court has since officially taken up the case.
Following the leak, Chief Justice Annette Ziegler said, according to the Associated Press, that the court was “united behind this investigation to identify the source of the apparent leak” and that all seven of the court’s justices “condemn this violation.”
The Associated Press reported that after Wisconsin Capitol Police declined to investigate the leak, Ziegler said she would “pursue other means to get to the bottom of this leak.”
