A reproductive rights advocacy group rallied for Proposition 139 in the Valley while also offering free piercings, emergency contraceptives, and more.
One advocacy group is taking an unconventional approach to educating Arizona voters on reproductive rights.
Vote for Abortion brought its “F/CK Bans Beauty Bar” bus to Tempe and Phoenix this month to rally for Proposition 139 while also offering free piercings, temporary tattoos, makeup, T-shirts, emergency contraceptives, and more.
Proposition 139, a measure that will be on the Arizona ballot this November, would amend the state constitution to protect the right to an abortion up until fetal viability, or about 24 weeks of pregnancy.
This was how the state operated while the US Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision was in place. When the court overturned Roe in 2022, it opened the door for Arizona Republicans’ law banning abortion after 15 weeks with no exceptions for sexual assault.
Over 800,000 Arizonans signed petitions to place Proposition 139 on this fall’s ballot—the most signatures submitted for a citizen’s initiative in state history.
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“It’s a measure that’s very popular with people,” Liz Plank, a reproductive rights activist involved with the Vote for Abortion event, told The Copper Courier. “Every time abortion’s been on the ballot, it has won, and so it’s reflective of national polls around abortion where most voters actually don’t want these extreme abortion bans, especially the ones that endanger women’s lives.”
The Vote for Abortion event also brought multiple content creators to Arizona to raise awareness about Proposition 139 and reproductive rights on social media.
Kayla Fisher, a content creator from Boston, said she came to the event to support the “fight for women’s rights and women’s freedoms.”
“I’ve been on birth control my whole life,” Fisher said. “I’ve had friends that have had abortions and it’s made a huge impact on their lives for the better. And it’s just a matter of treating women the same way we’re treating everybody, and that’s just as a human being.”
Vote for Abortion visited the Valley in June in response to the Arizona Supreme Court’s reinstatement of the state’s 1864 abortion law. Democrats in the state Legislature and a few Republicans later passed a repeal of that law, so it was ultimately never enforced.
During that summer visit, Vote for Abortion was joined by actresses Jodie Foster, Busy Philipps, June Diane Raphael, and other high-profile figures in rallying for reproductive rights. The organization gave out over $500,000 worth of contraceptives and feminine hygiene products as part of the campaign.
So far, Vote for Abortion has visited four states. Spokesperson Jenny Kay told The Copper Courier the organization has reached over 80 million people.
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