
FILE - Arizona Sen. Eva Burch, D-Phoenix, stands outside of her Capitol office March 19, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)
State Sen. Eva Burch, a Democratic lawmaker who drew attention for revealing in a speech nearly a year ago that she was planning to get an abortion, has announced her resignation from the Arizona Legislature.
Sen. Burch of Mesa said she has been struggling to make ends meet and find balance in her work in the legislature and as a health care provider. Just months into her second term, she added in her statement Wednesday that she was a “a casualty of legislative pay.”
“I hope that the future will see Arizona lawmakers earning a living wage so that our constituents can be represented by working class citizens who understand the pressures of raising a family and struggling to make ends meet here in Arizona,” said Burch, whose resignation is effective March 14.
Nearly a year ago, Burch revealed while speaking on the Senate floor that her pregnancy was no longer viable and that she was planning to get an abortion. Burch, who had previously worked as a nurse practitioner at a women’s health clinic, had said she wanted to share with her colleagues and the public the practical effects of abortion restrictions passed over the years. Burch also criticized restrictions in Arizona as being out of touch.
Her speech came just before the Arizona Supreme Court ruled that a Civil War-era abortion ban could apply. The Legislature repealed the law before enforcement could begin.
In November, Arizona voters approved a constitutional amendment guaranteeing abortion access up to fetal viability, typically after 21 weeks.
Travel time rose post-Dobbs in states limiting abortion, with AZ seeing surge from Texas
WASHINGTON – In 14 states that made abortion all but impossible to obtain after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, women seeking to end a...
Supreme Court limits nationwide injunctions, but fate of Trump birthright citizenship order unclear
WASHINGTON (AP) — A divided Supreme Court on Friday ruled that individual judges lack the authority to grant nationwide injunctions, but the...
Opinion: What Arizonans can learn from Brazil’s near-total abortion ban
"Neither imprisoned nor dead." This is the powerful translation of Nem Presa, Nem Morta, the name of an advocacy organization that is leading the...
This OB-GYN is concerned about Arizona’s rural maternity care deserts
NEED TO KNOW: 6 Arizona counties have fewer than 1 OB-GYN per 10,000 women. Of those, Greenlee County had no obstetric care providers in the entire...



