Proposition 139: Yes vote ahead in Arizona abortion rights ballot measure

PHOENIX - While no projections have been made yet, unofficial figures show the "yes" vote is leading for Arizona's abortion rights ballot measure.

The measure, known as Proposition 139 or the Arizona Abortion Access Act, is one of a number of similar measures that voters decided on across the country on Election Day. In Arizona, the measure will amend Article II of the Arizona State Constitution by inserting a new section on the issue of abortion.

"Every individual has a fundamental right to abortion," read a portion of the measure.

The measure also bans the state from the following:

Denying, restricting, or interfering with abortion rights before fetal viability, "unless justified by a compelling state interest that is achieved by the least restrictive means."
Denying, restricting or interfering with an abortion that takes place after fetal viability that, "in the good faith judgment of a treating health care professional, is necessary to protect the life or mental health of the pregnant individual."
Penalizing any individual or entity for "aiding or assisting a pregnant individual in exercising the individual's right to abortion."

Proposition 139 defines fetal viability, for the purpose of the law, as "the point in pregnancy when, in the good faith judgment of a treating health care professional and based on the particular facts of the case, there is a significant likelihood of the fetus's sustained survival outside the uterus without the application of extraordinary medical measures."

Since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, Arizona has seen a legal conflict involving two drastically different abortion laws. Of the two laws, one institutes a 15-week abortion ban for the state, and the other, which dates back to pre-statehood days, prescribes a criminal penalty for people who help a pregnant woman get an abortion.

Once again, it should be noted that no major news organizations have made a projection for this ballot measure.

Arizona is not the only state with an abortion rights measure on the ballot. According to the Associated Press, eight other states have similar measures on their respective ballots. In Florida, a measure that would have prevented lawmakers from passing any law that penalized, prohibited, delayed or restricted abortion until fetal viability is projected to not reach the 60% threshold that is needed for such measures to pass.