EMILYs List Statement on Arizona Supreme Court Allowing Draconian Near-Total Ban
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Arizona Supreme Court issued a devastating ruling in Planned Parenthood Arizona v. Mayes/Hazelrigg to allow a Civil War-era, near-total abortion ban in the state, mandating two to five years in prison for anyone aiding an abortion, including medical providers. This decision strips Arizonans of their bodily autonomy and bans abortion in nearly all cases. While the court decision allows a near-total ban to go into place in the state, abortion is still accessible in Arizona for a limited period of time. EMILYs List President Jessica Mackler released the following statement in response to the ruling:
“Yet again, Republicans are using the courts to sidestep the will of the American people. Arizonans have been clear that they want abortion protected and they don’t want the government involved in their reproductive health care decisions, but Republicans don’t seem to care. They want to play politics with our bodies, lives, and futures. Today’s decision to eliminate nearly all abortion access for Arizonans is cruel and harmful and will push care out of the hands of millions.
“The stakes of this election could not be higher, as Republicans try to rip away access to abortion through any and all means necessary. We’ve seen how important it is to elect Democratic pro-choice women like Gov. Katie Hobbs and Attorney General Kris Mayes who are working to protect our rights. Abortion is on the ballot and Arizonans must elect more Democratic pro-choice women up and down the ballot, including Marlene Galán-Woods (AZ-01) and Kirsten Engel (AZ-06), who will protect our freedom in the state and across the country.”
EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, works to elect Democratic pro-choice women up and down the ballot and across the country with a goal of fighting for our rights and our communities. Our work is centered around a fundamental vision: Run. Win. Change the World. EMILYs List has raised $850 million in service to that vision and has helped Democratic women win competitive elections by recruiting and training candidates, supporting and helping build strong campaigns, researching the issues that impact women and families, running one of the largest independent expenditure operations for Democrats, and turning out women voters to the polls. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect the country’s first woman as vice president, 175 women to the House, 26 to the Senate, 20 governors, and over 1,500 women to state and local office. More than 40% of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. Visit www.emilyslist.org for more information.
