Arizona Supreme Court clears way for voters to decide on right to abortion

The Arizona Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that a 200-word summary that abortion advocates used to collect signatures for a ballot measure is valid, clearing the way for voters to decide on the constitutional right to an abortion.

Under the measure, abortions would be allowed until an embryo or foetus could survive outside the womb, typically around 24 weeks. There are some exceptions for later-term abortions to save the mother's life or to protect her physical or mental health.

The decision comes on the heels of a Thursday ballot printing deadline in Arizona.

The Arizona Right to Life, the organisation that sued the ballot measure campaign, argued that the petition summary was misleading.

The high court justices rejected that argument, as well as the claim that the summary for the proposed amendment failed to mention it would overturn existing abortion laws if approved by voters.

We have noted that (r)easonable people can differ about the best way to describe a principal provision, but a court should not enmesh itself in such quarrels, the court wrote in its ruling.

Arizona for Abortion Access, which launched the initiative, said the ruling is a huge win and advocates will be working around the clock to encourage voters to support it.

"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, the group said in a statement.

The Arizona secretary of state's office recently certified 577,971 signatures far above the number required to put the question before voters.

Democrats have made abortion rights a central message since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022 and it is a key part of their efforts in this year's elections.