Arizona Republicans Continue to Attack Reproductive Freedom
ARIZONA – Across the state, voters made their voices heard and voted against restrictions to their reproductive freedoms. Yet, Arizona Republicans are back again this legislative session with their anti-abortion agenda. Republicans are once more attempting to insert themselves in the private and personal decisions of pregnant women, with the latest attack coming from Republican State Representative Rachel Keshel from Legislative District 17. Keshel introduced HB 2681 – a bill that restricts abortion medication. HB 2681 passed out of the House Judiciary on Wednesday, February 19.
“Republicans will stop at nothing to strip Arizonans of their most essential freedoms – and this latest batch of anti-abortion bills sponsored is just the latest example of this, ” said ADLCC Board Co-Chair Senator Priya Sundareshan. “These harmful attempts to restrict access to safe abortion medication are just cruel attempts to insert oneself into the private, medical decisions of pregnant women. Democrats will not let these attacks stand – we will continue to fight back against any and all attempts to go after Arizonans’ reproductive freedoms.”
Other Republican anti-abortion bills introduced this session include:
HCR 2058: Amends the language of the voter-approved Prop 139 that enshrined the right to abortion in our Arizona state constitution.
HB 2547: Bars the state or any of its agencies from spending any public money in a contract with a person who performs or promotes abortion care.
HB 2439: Requires the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, the state’s Medicaid health insurance program, to include a link on its website’s home page that leads to information about agencies that could help women through pregnancy and childbirth — but not those that provide abortions or refer patients to abortion clinics.