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Jimmy Williams
Voters in Arizona and Montana will have the opportunity to protect abortion rights in their state constitutions this November, as both states have cleared the path for the issue to be placed on the ballot.
The Arizona Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that the 200-word summary used by abortion rights advocates to collect signatures for a ballot measure was valid, ensuring the proposal will remain on the ballot. Meanwhile, Montana Secretary of State Christi Jacobsen certified the state’s abortion rights initiative for the upcoming election.
In Arizona, the state’s Secretary of State’s office confirmed that abortion rights supporters had successfully gathered 577,971 valid signatures, surpassing the number required to place the measure before voters. The Arizona initiative aims to protect access to abortion until fetal viability, typically around 24 weeks, with exceptions allowed for post-viability abortions if needed to save the mother’s life or protect her physical or mental health.
Montana’s initiative follows a similar framework, enshrining the right to abortion until fetal viability, with later abortions allowed to protect the mother’s life or health. If approved, the Montana measure would formally recognize a 1999 state Supreme Court ruling that found the right to privacy under the state constitution includes the right to obtain an abortion from a provider of choice. This move comes in response to a series of restrictive abortion laws passed by Montana’s Republican-controlled legislature.
“Since Roe was overturned, extreme anti-abortion politicians have used every trick in the book to take away our freedoms and ban abortion completely,” said Martha Fuller, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Montana. “During that time, we have been working together to put this issue before voters.”
Arizona’s legal developments come as the state prepares to meet its ballot printing deadline on Thursday. Last week, the Arizona Supreme Court allowed voter information pamphlets to include the term “unborn human being,” though this language will not appear on the ballots themselves. In a case challenging the summary of the abortion rights petition, Arizona Right to Life argued that the language was misleading and failed to mention the measure would overturn existing abortion laws. However, the court rejected these claims, stating that while reasonable people might differ on how to describe a ballot measure, the court should not intervene in such disputes.
“This is a huge win,” Arizona for Abortion Access, the group behind the initiative, said in a statement. “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.”
In Montana, where the state’s Republican-controlled legislature has repeatedly attempted to restrict abortion rights, supporters of the measure have rallied around the opportunity to secure long-lasting protections for reproductive freedom. If approved, the initiative would safeguard abortion access against future legislative efforts to roll back these rights.
Both states join a growing number of U.S. states where voters will weigh in on abortion rights this fall, making it a central issue in upcoming elections as advocates seek to secure legal protections for reproductive autonomy.
