Proposition 139 looks to codify abortion rights into Arizona Constitution

Tune to KTAR News 92.3 FM or our app at 1 p.m. Thursday for a special hourlong show looking at the pros and cons of Proposition 139.

PHOENIX — Proposition 139 would constitutionally protect the right to an abortion in Arizona, which would provide a conclusion to an issue that has dominated the state since Roe v. Wade was overturned two years ago.

In addition to essentially returning the state’s abortion law to what it was before the U.S. Supreme Court overruled the landmark 1973 decision, the measure would limit the state’s ability to adopt or enforce future laws that would restrict access to the procedure.

The language in the citizen-led ballot initiative protects the right to an abortion “before the point of fetal viability” and defines fetal viability as “the point of pregnancy when there is significant chance of the survival of the fetus outside of the uterus without the application of extraordinary medical measures.”

The current law allows abortions up to 15 weeks of pregnancy. It is the result of legislation passed this year to prevent near-total ban that originated in the Civil War era from going into effect.

Supporters of Proposition 139 say it’s an issue of women’s reproductive rights, while opponents believe it goes too far.

Who supports Proposition 139 in Arizona?

Dr. Paul Isaacson, a Valley OB-GYN who supports Proposition 139, said there are misconceptions about what it would do.

Isaacson called fetal viability a moving target. He said it’s now widely accepted to be in the vicinity of 23 to 24 weeks.

And while the measure does allow for exceptions past the point of viability in order to protect the physical and mental health of the mother, he said any claims that abortions would be allowed up to the point of birth are false.

“There is no clinic in Arizona that ever has, or in the United States that ever has, performed abortions up until the moment of birth,” Isaacson told KTAR News 92.3 FM. “That’s an out-and-out myth, an out-and-out lie.”

Isaacson also countered the notion that the measure would allow anyone to perform an abortion, regardless of medical expertise.

He said nobody is advocating for untrained health care professional professionals to perform abortions, and Prop 139 wouldn’t change the qualifications.

“There’s not specific laws about cardiac surgery, but nobody is worried about a veterinarian performing heart surgery,” he said.

Isaacson is more worried about the health of the mother.

Shortly after Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, eliminating federal abortion rights guarantees and putting states in control of the issue, he learned of an Arizona woman who traveled to California to receive an abortion but was in a lot of pain when she returned home.

A scan revealed she had an ectopic pregnancy, which is when a fetus grows inside one of the fallopian tubes instead of the uterus. Isaacson said the woman was sent to the emergency room. However, her treatment was delayed due to a debate between the ER’s staff and legal team because the state’s laws were unsettled at the time.

“It’s a ticking time bomb,” Isaacson said of an ectopic pregnancy. “And when it ruptures, a woman can bleed to death very quickly.”

Who opposes Proposition 139 in Arizona?

Jill Norgaard with Arizona Right to Life doesn’t see Proposition 139 as a women’s reproductive rights issue.

In fact, she fears the language of the proposal would allow somebody unqualified, like a dentist or massage therapist, to perform abortions, something Prop 139 supporters like Isaacson have refuted.

In addition, Norgaard believes the language in the bill could be interpreted by the courts to permit abortions well past the point of fetal viability, another point Isaacson addressed.

“This proposition allows for late-term abortion,” Norgaard said. “Literally abortion up to birth and that is the point that people are not understanding.”

Norgaard said women deserve the highest standard of care, something she thinks Proposition 139 doesn’t support.

“What this is going to do is make the care for women substandard and extremely risky,” she said.

Arizona Right to Life was resurrected in response to the ballot initiative, Norgaard said. Fourteen groups across the state are fighting the proposition, including It Goes Too Far. The abortion issue is also set to go before voters this year in Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, New York and South Dakota.