Arizona passes Prop 139, constitutionally protecting abortion up to fetal viability

Leading up to Prop 139’s passage, Arizona law banned abortion after 15 weeks with no exceptions for victims of sexual assault. 

After years of uncertainty on the state of abortion in Arizona, voters chose to constitutionally protect abortion after the Associated Press called the race early in the morning after Election Day. 

Prop 139 was put on the ballot through a citizen initiative, which requires a certain number of voter signatures. Prop 139 brought in over 800,000 signatures, more than twice what it needed, and the most in state history for an initiative. . 

Abortion will now be constitutionally protected before fetal viability, or when a fetus can survive outside the uterus (around 24 weeks). 

The measure also prohibits penalties against health-care providers who offer abortion procedures, and it gives them protections to do what is medically appropriate for their patients. 

Arizona for Abortion Access, the campaign in support of Prop 139, said the decision to support the measure was historic. 

“Arizona voters have made history once again,” the campaign said in a statement. “Proposition 139 was overwhelmingly approved, guaranteeing Arizonans the fundamental right to abortion.”

Abortion in Arizona faced a tumultuous year in 2024. Thanks to the fall of Roe v. Wade making way for stricter laws on abortion, the Arizona Supreme Court in April announced the reinstatement of an 1864 abortion ban. The law made abortion illegal in all circumstances except to save the life of the mother, and it carried a mandatory prison sentence for anyone who assists in performing the abortion. 

The territorial law was repealed by the state Legislature in May. All but two Republicans in the state Senate and three in the state House voted against the repeal. 

Gov. Katie Hobbs, a Democrat, signed the repeal in May, and the ban was officially taken off the books in September. 

Leading up to Prop 139’s passage, Arizona law banned abortion after 15 weeks with no exceptions for victims of sexual assault. 

“What we started in the fall of 2022, we finished tonight,” said Chris Love, spokeswoman for YES on 139. “A fundamental right to abortion is part of the Arizona constitution once and for all. Next time the nation wonders how much government interference in reproductive healthcare is acceptable, or what type of arbitrary abortion ban is popular, they can look at Arizona and know the answer is ‘none.’”

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