Arizona Supreme Court says state can use ‘unborn human’ in abortion vote explainer

Longtime pro-life advocate Lynn Dyer places a sign that reads “Life Never a Mistake” on public property in front of Camelback Family Planning, an abortion clinic in Phoenix, on April 18, 2024. / Credit: FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 15, 2024 / 15:19 pm (CNA).

Here’s a roundup of pro-life-related developments in the U.S. this week. 

Arizona approves term ‘unborn human’ on abortion amendment explainer

The Arizona Supreme Court has approved the use of the term “unborn human being” in a state explainer on the broad abortion amendment on the ballot this November.

The ruling reverses a July decision by the lower Maricopa County Superior Court that struck the term “unborn human being” from a state explainer on the proposed abortion amendment. The superior court’s ruling claimed the term was misleading and “inherently political.”

The Arizona Supreme Court, however, said in its Wednesday ruling that the Maricopa court erred in its decision and that the phrase “unborn human being,” which is used in the state’s existing law, “substantially complies” with the impartiality requirement. 

The term will now be included in a pamphlet that explains all the amendment proposals on the ballot. The pamphlet will be sent to voters before the election.

Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes has verified enough signatures to add the abortion amendment proposal to the ballot, meaning voters will decide whether to enshrine a broad right to abortion in the state constitution this November.

If the amendment is successful, it would invalidate the state’s law protecting unborn life at 15 weeks 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 reproductive age believe that abortion should be legal in all or most cases, according to a new study released Wednesday by the research group the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). KFF defined reproductive age as 18 through 49.

Roughly four out of 10 women (45%) correctly described the legal status of abortion in their state and nearly a third (32%) indicated that they did not know whether abortion was legal in their state. Similarly, 67% of women said that they did not know whether their state allowed chemical abortion.

The study also demonstrates the state of fear surrounding abortion with six out of 10 (63%) of women indicating that they are concerned they or someone close to them would not be able to get an abortion if it was needed to preserve their life or health. Currently, every state with an abortion restriction allows exceptions for abortion in cases in which the mother’s life is in danger, according to data gathered by Americans United for Life.

Meanwhile, only 26% of American women of reproductive age believe abortion should be illegal in all or most cases.

According to KFF, 70% of reproductive-age women support a federal law guaranteeing a right to abortion, while 63% of women oppose a law protecting unborn life at 15 weeks.

Finally, the study found that 74% of women of reproductive age oppose a policy of leaving abortion up to the states.

Abortion amendment officially on Missouri ballot

Missouri Secretary of State John Ashcroft has certified enough signatures to officially add the “Right to Reproductive Freedom” amendment to the state ballot this November.

This means that Missouri voters will decide whether to enshrine a “fundamental right” to abortion at all stages of pregnancy.

If successful, the amendment would invalidate the state’s current law protecting life at conception as well as most other pro-life measures on the books.

It would allow certain regulations on abortion after viability but only if they do not “deny, interfere with, delay, or otherwise restrict an abortion that in the good faith judgment of a treating health care professional is needed to protect the life or physical or mental health of the pregnant person.”

Wisconsin Capitol Police decline to investigate abortion leak

Citing a conflict of interest, the Wisconsin Capitol Police have refused to investigate the recent leak of a state supreme court draft order concerning abortion.

According to the Wisconsin Watch, the state capitol police are part of the administration of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who is an outspoken abortion supporter. Wisconsin Watch reported that Evers spokesperson Britt Cudaback said there was a “clear conflict” considering the governor’s “significant concern about the outcome of the court’s decisions.”

The leaked order concerned a lawsuit by Planned Parenthood and several other pro-abortion groups that seeks to invalidate the state’s law protecting life at conception. The law is not currently being enforced after Dane County Circuit Judge Diane Schlipper ruled in the abortion industry’s favor last year.

The leak, which was first reported on by Wisconsin Watch on June 26, prematurely revealed the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s plans to take up an appeal in the case. The Wisconsin Supreme Court has since officially taken up the case. 

After the leak, Chief Justice Annette Ziegler said that the court was “united behind this investigation to identify the source of the apparent leak” and that all seven justices on the court “condemn this breach,” according to the Associated Press.

The Associated Press reported that after the Wisconsin Capitol Police declined to investigate the leak, Ziegler said she would “pursue other means in an effort to get to the bottom of this leak.”